


Breaking and Entering

by CPuff



Category: Ratchet & Clank
Genre: Action/Adventure, Ancient Temples, Canon Compliant, Emotional Manipulation, Friendship, Gen, Loneliness, Long, No Romance, POV First Person, Plot Driven, dealing with personal issues, looking out for your bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-06-08 21:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 94,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6875104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CPuff/pseuds/CPuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally written 2012. Takes place shortly after All-4-One, includes comic as canon.</p>
<p>After 10 years, Max Apogee has been found and rescued from an isolated planet. Ratchet and Clank, originally just planning to check in how Talwyn is handling this, get roped into Max's passion for ancient technologies, specifically Lombax related. Things seem fine until this passion starts bordering on obsession. And as fun as learning more about your own species might be, inevitably it scratches open some old wounds as well. So how do you know when things start going too far?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this originally in 2012 after finished All-4-One. I consider the DC comic in canon, both with this story if not the entire franchise, but I don't expect people to have read it to be able to read this.
> 
> In all honesty I'm not a 100% satisfied with this story. It's a bit of a slow burn, and I feel it's rather split in half as far as plot goes. But I still like the dialogue in the story a lot as well as later chapters. 
> 
> The prologue is in third person but the rest of the fic is in first person.

The sun beat down on towering trees and oversized leaves the same it had done for the past ten years. Whether it was because the planet was close to its sun or simply because he was located on its equator the explorer couldn't say. All he knew for a fact was that every morning the sun came up and every morning it was the same baking heat and steaming humidity. The trees and ground-level vegetation always the same explosions of dark rich greens, deep violets and the occasional splash of reds or yellows. No seasonal change ever seemed to occur, and if it hadn't been for his own recording of the days the explorer might never have known as to how long exactly he had been marooned here.

But recording was exactly what he did. Not merely the days but also the slow change of the landscape, the migration of dangerous animals lurking in the jungles, the corroding of stone slabs and the harvestable fruits for the month. There was a lot of time when you were lost and alone. Fortunately for the explorer, he had a purpose other than fighting to survive.

He was standing on top of its eastern corner at the time. He had already mapped the entire structure's layout many years ago, long before he had dared go inside it, but today he wanted to once again go over the strange writing and hieroglyphs carved and painted onto the stone before the heavy rains that he was expecting washed them away for good. They had slowly been fading over time and he was worried if he didn't review his writings of them one more time he might miss something and their original meaning would be lost forever.

They were not nearly as interesting and thought provoking as some of the other markings carved and scrawled all over the ancient structure, but he was afraid that this was deceptive and that there was a deeper meaning he simply couldn't grasp yet.

The circles and dots, curves and half-moons were already hard to properly decipher. Their blue paint almost completely chipped away by the weather and the only real means of even figuring out what was once written there lay in the grooves some ancient tool had cut into the stone. Even those were slowly losing their fight to the elements though along with their companions. Carved and no doubt beautifully painted at one stage was the depiction of strange beings, small in stature but with large eyes, all seemingly enveloped in light and suspended in the air. All of them shown in scenes depicting miraculous acts or other images that inspired worship from whatever ancient race had originally erected the now forgotten building.

Forgotten that is except for the explorer. Had it not been for this structure he may long ago have made his way through the jungle and across the land, trying to find even the slightest trace of civilisation despite already knowing there was none. But this, this building and its secrets, kept him rooted to one place. It focused his attention on something he could study and understand and veered it away from thinking about his desperate situation or the despair of never being heard from again. These carvings, this architecture and the thousands of sprawling tunnels inside it kept him going.

Ten years later, and still there were so many secrets waiting to be uncovered. Ten years and no new equipment so that he might be able to unlock them. It was a long time to be alone.

The wind picked up. He knew the rains were coming as they always did this time of year but this wind was different. It didn't signal the rolling of clouds or the drop of mercury in his barometer. It was sudden and a little wild, pulling leaves, twigs and other debris upwards into the sky. There was also a low hum that gradually became louder and louder until it was more like a drone and eventually a roar. Clouds formed and burnt themselves out above him as the explorer gripped his hat tightly, afraid it would be whipped away.

A dark cloud was steadily growing in the otherwise misty blue sky. As it grew it took on shape, eventually becoming a shadow with clear cut lines and corners. It started getting broken up by pin-holes as well as large circles of light. It changed from a darker blue against blue to a faded grey until eventually it contrasted green with the sky. Not the green of vegetation but the sharp, polished green of painted metal.

Trees bent and dust was thrown as it settled itself on the largest clearing of ground in the area. It took the explorer a few moments before his brain remembered the thing he was looking at was a ship. It took another few moments before he released that ship meant salvation. He slid and almost fell off the building's roof as he raced down its broken stairs and fallen boulders, calling loudly at it the whole time in case it left before it saw him.

The ship's doors opened and a ramp extended down from it. A small handful of occupants exited, armed against any possible dangers that may welcome them. They did not however shoot at the explorer as he ran wildly towards them. After all, the whole reason they had landed was to find out why their bio-scanners had picked up a Markazian life-form on what was an uninhabited planet.

When word got out that the long lost explorer Max Apogee had been located after a decade of being missing presumed dead the news spread like brush fire. Within a mere couple of days it was the top news for the entire Polaris galaxy. It took only a single day more before it was revealed what he had been doing while marooned for so long and the media was quick to declare a new age for Zoni research.


	2. Media Frenzy

Nothing was happening today and I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. This seems to be a constant problem in my life. When things are going breakneck fast and every decision is a life or death one, I keep wishing for when things were calm and there didn't need to be so much running around. But when things finally go back to, what I guess I could call normal, I enjoy it for like a week before I start getting restless and want something interesting to happen already. I dunno what you'd call that mental psychosis exactly, but I'm sure there's a word for what's wrong with me.  
  
If I had to sit and list the pros and cons though, I think doing something actively might win out as being what I prefer doing with my time, and don't even get me started on how screwed up that is. At least when I'm out saving the galaxy or whatever the heck has decided to happen during my time off I can get some kind of satisfaction out of the fact that I'm helping people, as well as myself. And yeah, I know about the whole 'we all help in our own small way' philosophy and I'm not saying it's not true, but it's a bit different when you're actually doing it practically and not just leaving it up to karma, you know?  
  
Although I doubt if this day even _got_ me so much as karma points. It was already late afternoon, or maybe a better thing to say is it was already early evening. This annoyed me when I looked up from the newly refitted stabilising thrusters I'd been struggling with all day and saw that I'd forgotten to go upstairs and get something to eat. I wiped the day's oil from my gloves as best I could and made my way back up to the main apartment, anticipating the 'I'm not angry, just disappointed' look waiting for me.  
  
"I know, I know," I fired preemptively as I walked into the living room, "I lost track of time."  
  
Crossed arms, disappointed stare, annoyed silence. Yep, checklist all covered.  
  
"Hey, at least I remembered before it got dark this time!" I argued at the judgemental silence.  
  
"It _is_ dark," Came the blunt reply.  
  
I turned to the large window overlooking the city skyline. The city wasn't called 'Luminopolis' for nothing. Every high-rise, dome and apartment building had a million lighted windows shining every colour imaginable despite the sun barely having disappeared over the horizon. The last dark yellows and oranges were quickly fading in the sky but there was still enough light to make out the remaining clouds of the afternoon and keep the stars from being seen yet.  
  
"It's not _that_ dark," I shrugged although I made sure to say this as I made for the kitchen.  
  
I wasn't sure if what followed should be called a sigh. Can robots sigh? I should ask about that at some point.  
  
"I am not particularly in the mood to sit and argue semantics with you," Clank said as he followed me.  
  
"Then don't. I'm eating, ok?" I said as I pulled out of the fridge with the milk and whatever the left-overs in a tupperware bowl were suppose to be.  
  
"Gloves!" He yelped when he saw I was still wearing them.  
  
"Hey, it's not like _you_ need to eat anything in there," I said as I closed the fridge door, leaving an oil smudge before I went looking for a glass.  
  
"Why do I even bother?" He said as he went back to the living room shaking his head at me. I resisted the urge to pull a face at him as he left.  
  
After warming up what turned out to be a casserole of some kind and finding something to put the milk in, I followed him and made myself comfortable on the couch. Clank was busy channel hopping which meant it was about time for the news. Not exactly something I watched for the fun of it, but we'd found with experience that it was best to find out early what the heck the rest of the galaxy was up to before it came knocking on your door at three in the morning.  
  
"Did I miss anything today?" I asked as he found Channel Two.  
  
"There was a fascinating program involving the algorithms found in almost all digital locking devices regardless of initial programming species or technological modifications."  
  
"That exciting huh?" I said flatly.  
  
"Indeed," Came the enthusiastic reply, signalling Clank had completely missed my sarcasm. "If we ever have the chance, I would like to test a few theories they presented in regards to which models are considered the most impenetrable."  
  
"Yeah, you do that," I said between bites. "But do me a favour and don't do it to any-one's lock who'll get us arrested, will ya?"  
  
"As I recall, you are normally the one who covers whether we are arrested for something or not."  
  
There was something I could say to argue with that, I know it, but at the time I couldn't think of anything, focusing instead on the robotic news reporter as she went over the daily headlines. There was a picture of some or other planet on display next to her head as she talked about its location and over-all atmosphere. I didn't recognise it but just from a glance I could tell it wasn't one of the galaxy's biggest technological hubs.  
  
_"...mostly temperate although certain continents are known to get seasonal monsoons."_ She was saying. _"Because of its relatively high rainfall and proximity to its sun, planet Otani is mostly covered in rainforest and hosts a large variety of wild animals, some of which are known to be ferocious hunters. This makes Apogee's survival even more remarkable than initially thought, as he has confirmed rumours that he was largely unarmed during the decade he was stranded."_  
  
"That is a long time to be a castaway," Clank commented. After a few moments he added. "Isn't that older than I am?"  
  
I hushed him as the name of whoever the news anchor was reporting on caught my attention.  
  
_"Initial reports from Huerta Memorial is that Apogee has not suffered any dangerous injuries during his ordeal and is not carrying any viruses or bacteria that could endanger him or the other residence at the hospital. However, it has been asked that the media try to limit how much they request new information from its staff and that updates will be given accordingly."_  
  
"She does realise she has just given out the name of the facility in the same paragraph as asking others to stay away from it, hasn't she?"  
  
"Apogee..." I frowned. "You don't think it's any relation to Talwyn do you?"  
  
Clank turned from the TV to blink at me. "A family name is not something that is commonly unique to one individual in an entire galaxy."  
  
"Yeah, but Tal's the only person I know of who has a relative that's been missing for a couple of years," I said, crossing my arms as I leaned back against the sofa.  
  
_"Details are still unclear as to what Apogee had been doing for the past decade or how he managed to stay alive, but we will be sure to keep you up to date right here on Channel Two. In other news, new studies show that the current Declaration of Synthetic Life might need to be updated as the Vullard species could legally be classified as robots due to..."_  
  
I stopped paying attention as the reports became more politically focused. "Now I wish we didn't miss the beginning of the report. But I'm pretty sure it's the same Apogee as Talwyn's dad. I mean, it makes sense right?"  
  
"I believe you are jumping to conclusions a little but I agree, it is perhaps too big of a coincidence."  
  
"Only one way to know for sure, right?" I got up and pulled the TV's remote nearer, tuning it away from its channel feed and accessing its call feature. Talwyn was on speed dial, something that was decided after she had the Apogee Space station rebuilt in case anything else ever came up that needed immediate attention.  
  
The call rang for only a second before it switched over to a pre-recording.  
  
_"You have reached the Apogee Space Station. If you are hearing this message then er... uhm..."_ The aged robotic voice trailed off before a second one interrupted.  
  
_"Dangit! You're suppose to tell whoever it is that Talwyn and her father are sick of people houndin' 'em fer the past 3 days!"_  
  
"I was just getting' to that part!"  
  
"Well, whoever you are, I'd suggest callin' again after she's put the blaster down."  
  
"Unless you're calling about repairin' the airlock she shot out. Then leave a message."  
  
"Unless you're the reporter she shot at's lawyer, in which case none of us are home."   
  
The answering machine gave its tone after this and I hung up.  
  
"No message?" Clanked asked.  
  
"Nah, I think that pretty much answers the question," I said as I turned the TV back to channel feed. "Besides, what exactly was I suppose to say? 'Oh hey Tal I heard your dad's come back after being presumed dead for ten years. Is that true or are you still depressed about him being gone?'"  
  
"I am sure there would be a better way to word it, but I suppose you are right." He gave something like a shrug. "In that case, perhaps we should go and visit her."  
  
"When she's blowing up airlocks?" I chuckled. "Let's give her a few days before we barge in, ok? She's a pretty good shot and I don't feel like jumping out the way before she recognises us. Besides," I stood up again and cracked my knuckles as I turned to get myself cleaned up. "She probably wants some time alone with her dad before other people try to muscle in on it."  


* * *

  
  
Muscling in on his time was pretty much all the media did for the next two days. Every evening's news that followed was nothing but stories about Talwyn's father, named Max I was reminded eventually, and how he managed to survive without any real technology or communication with the rest of the universe and the uncountable number of dangers he faced on a daily basis as well as some less dramatised reports about where on Otani he was found and some interviews with the unintentional rescue crew.  
  
They had been patrolling the sector searching for any traces of Dr. Nefarious after the events involving the Loki Master. After he stole Kronk and Zephyr's ship he disappeared again and no-one had caught sight or signal from him since. It was thought that he was hiding out on some remote planet where he wouldn't be spotted and reported to galactic authorities. It was during a routine search that a patrolling ship picked up a Markazian on their scans of a planet that was suppose to be classified as "In development" and didn't host any space-faring species.  
  
I wasn't completely sure what the odds of Max Apogee being found this way were, but when Clank tried to explain it to me I started getting a headache and simply bought into the news report's much simpler explanation that it was 'miraculous'.  
  
We tried contacting Talwyn again on the second day but we got the same recorded message of veiled death threats as before and decided to give it up until the news found something new to report on.  
  
Two days later they did start reporting on something new, but not in the way I thought they would.  
  
It was the start of the weekend which meant 'Afterburner' was on but we interrupted it to watch the news once again if only because a personal friend was involved. I wasn't sure if it should've been considered as spying on her or not, but Clank pointed out that seeing as this was galaxy-wide news we had an obligation to keep up to date.  
  
The news report started pretty much as it had done for the past three days before it started going down a different path than before.  
  
_"It seems that despite being marooned on a hostile planet, the famed explorer still found a way to research the elusive and, in some sections of the galaxy, highly debated race, the Zoni."_  
  
I heard Clank shift on the couch next to me.  
  
_"For the past decade Max Apogee spent his time exploring a formerly unknown Zoni temple on planet Otani. The temple itself had not yet been discovered when Apogee was left stranded on the planet by pirates. He had made it his mission to document and explore what turned out to be a vast structure by himself despite not having the proper safety equipment or study material. Despite his limitations, Max Apogee has returned to the galaxy with not only his life but also with more knowledge and revelations on the Zoni race than any other researcher has managed to accumulate before."_  
  
"Ok I'll admit, that's pretty impressive," I said, finding myself interested again..  
  
"I am not sure of how accurate her claim is though," Clank said, and I was pretty sure I detected a slight sulk.  
  
_"The temple itself is at least three times larger than the largest known Zoni temple discovered to date. Most of it is located underground with only a few structures visible on the planet's surface. Further scans show several more structures among the planet's jungle are in fact a part of the larger underground temple. Initial studies of the carbon content of the stone slabs used to make the structures places the temple's construction at around 10 000 years ago. Samples taken from deeper passages however suggest the temple has been modified as recently as 30 years ago."_  
  
"Well, the zoni do not monitor time as linearly as other species do," Clank continued to grumble.  
  
"Gettig kinda touchy, aren't you?" I asked, turning to him.  
  
"No. I am simply insulted by their lack of knowledge on the subject," He replied, crossing his arms.  
  
_"These more recent passages show strong evidence of Lombax influence in their construction..."_  
  
My head snapped back to the TV.  
  
_"...However, what connection the Lombax race would have had with the Zoni, if any, is still a mystery, especially since the nearest Lombax Colony was Rykan V which, according to the Polaris institute of sciences, had already fallen under Cragmite rule when these tunnels were constructed. Why evidence of the species' interference has been found on such a remote planet is still being researched, although scientists are at a lost, citing the planet as not having been conquered by either Lombax nor Cragmite forces during the Great War."_  
  
"Now _that_ is interesting," Clank said, uncrossing his arms again.  
  
I said nothing, folding my hands together as I rested my chin against them, frowning at the screen.  
  
_"Most of the Lombax influence is located deep within the temple's subterranean levels and are mostly focused on the tunnel's construction as well as several doorways which have been fitted with locking devices Galactic scientists have been unable to bypass so far. Max Apogee has confirmed that many of the deepest tunnels of the structure are still unexplored due to these locks. Investigations are being done into surviving Lombax chronicles and engineering manuscripts to try and find a way to access these."_  
  
"Call me crazy, but usually when you lock something it's 'cause you're trying to keep people out," I said with a little more disgust than I meant to. I grabbed the remote and flicked the TV off irritably.  
  
"Are you alright?" Clank asked after a short pause.  
  
I huffed, hiding the fact that I had to think about the answer. "Yeah."  
  
There was another pause before he decided to accept this and slid down from the couch. "I think we might want to try and visit Miss Talwyn after all."  
  
"Yeah... no... I dunno," I sighed, leaning forward onto my knees.  
  
The screen switched itself on again as the phone rang. The caller ID identified it as Otuse Obduratious, a reporter from a public broadcasting station who had a bad habit of trying to jump me and Clank for interviews when we tried to buy groceries.  
  
"Ugh. Hang up," I grumbled, in no mood to hear a thousand questions.  
  
Clank picked up the remote and cancelled the call. No sooner had he done so when the phone rang again, a different ID flashing on the screen, this time from a satellite network.  
  
"Should I...?"  
  
"Hang up," I said, standing.  
  
The phone rang again.  
  
I groaned, turning and heading for my room. "I think we're gonna have to postpone that trip for a few days, pal."  
  
"Do you think this has anything to do with the news report?" He asked, naively in my opinion.  
  
"It's not about my new hydro-powered hair-dryer," I grumbled as I slammed the shutters closed on a window as I went.  
  
"I think I shall give our front door's lock an quick inspection, shall I?" I heard Clank say as he walked down the opposite passage.  
  
"You do that," I agreed as I closed my door behind me.  
  
That night I got up around 2 am and ripped the TV's power-cable out the wall, shutting the incessant ringing off at last before I went back to bed.


	3. Escapism

I glared at the reporter with as much resentment as I could manage without letting it show on the rest of my face. I got some satisfaction when I noticed he shifted in his chair before continuing.  
  
"I wanted to thank you again for agreeing to an interview, Ratchet," He said with a toothy smile.  
  
"Well, I realised people wanted to know what I think of all this," I lied. The reason I eventually agreed to an interview was to shut the press up for a while. The phone hadn't stopped ringing since the news broke over four days ago.  
  
"Although ah, we wanted to ask that you have your phone connection checked," The grin didn't falter. "For some reason our offices have been ah, getting all your phone calls for the past few days."  
  
The chuckle I gave at this was real. "Oh really? I'll get that checked out, don't worry," What I meant was, I would rewire my TV the way it was suppose to be again. When the insistent phone calls from different news stations broke my last nerve, I rewired the whole thing in a fit of rage so that all my calls were re-directed to the nearest broadcaster's offices instead.  
  
The reporter shuffled some papers, mostly for show, before he continued. "So, I'm assuming you are aware of the discoveries made by Max Apogee that were revealed earlier this week."  
  
"Yeah," I said, already dreading the next question. "Yeah, I've been following the reports."  
  
"So, then you know about the discovery of Lombax influence in the otherwise ancient Zoni temple. Do you have any thoughts as to why they may be there or what kind of connection your species may have had with the Zoni?"  
  
'Your species' I noticed. As if I was some kind of spokesperson.  
  
"I don't really have any answers," I gave an apologetic half-smile and a shrug. "They were built before I was born, from what I've heard, and I haven't seen 'em in person. I've got as much idea as to why they're there as the rest of the galaxy."  
  
"But you do plan on going to see the ruins?" The reporter went on without missing a beat.  
  
"I dunno about that. I haven't really thought about it," I answered truthfully.  
  
"You don't think you might be able to give any useful advice if you saw what the structure looked like in person?" The question came quickly, not allowing me to catch my breath for too long.  
  
"I really don't think so," I sat up a little straighter. "The first time I saw Lombax buildings was two years ago."  
  
"What about these locks in some parts of the temple? Any thoughts on those and what might be behind them?"  
  
"Sorry to keep saying the same thing, but I really don't have a clue," I shifted in my seat. I was getting sick of repeating myself. "It's probably some or other invention they didn't want falling into the wrong hands, going by track record."  
  
"You think it might be something dangerous?" The reporter twisted my words. "After all, the Lombaxes have been responsible for some of the galaxy's most advanced machinery ever seen. Let's not forget what happened with the dimensionator a few years ago."  
  
"I dunno," I said, my patience straining. "Last I heard there was only on of those and there were a lot of steps taken to keep it secret."  
  
"But if there is a chance that another one might exist, wouldn't you want to see if it was possible? If only for, shall we say, personal reasons?"  
  
I almost stood up and left but I willed myself to stay put. "No."  
  
"So you're saying it would be best to just leave things alone. Despite the amount of knowledge the galaxy could gain from exploring this temple further?" The toothy smile became a little lop-sided as he gave me a patronising look. "This is one of the most exciting finds of the century, Ratchet. Surely you don't think it would be better to ignore it? If whatever is beyond the lock doors is dangerous, you know the Galactic government will take steps to contain it and prevent it being misused."  
  
I had to think carefully what I had to say about that. For some reason I will never understand, Qwark hadn't been impeached yet as Galactic president. If anything his approval rating climbed after the little adventure we had with Nefarious. But it wasn't him I was worried about. It was the ministers he had behind him. If I started calling them out for the idiots they were and pointed out that they were exactly the kind of people I didn't want to give a dangerous device to, they might give me some grief over it. More specifically they might start asking questions as to why I was so anti-government and, while they were at it, why I fly in weapons of mass destruction into civilian airspace at least twice a week and if those two were related in any way.  
  
"Nefarious still hasn't been found," I said instead.  
  
"Ah. True," The reporter nodded. There was only a moment's pause before he went on. "You are a friend of Talwyn Apogee, Max Apogee's daughter are you not? Have you any personal insights on these recent events regarding them?"  
  
"Even if I did, I don't think I have a right to talk about it in front of a camera," I shrugged.  
  
The reporter gave an amazingly fake laugh. "I suppose you're right." Toothy Grin. "Any closing remarks before we go back to our studio? Any 'Lombaxian insights' to end us off with?"  
  
I thought for a moment, staring at the reporter and his white teeth and navy suit which clashed horribly with his mint-coloured skin.  
  
"I just don't want people to get carried away by this whole thing and do something stupid. I'd like to find out why lomabxes were messing around with Zoni temples as much as any-one else, but if it turns out to be some kind of dimension-jumping thing I think it's best we just forget the whole thing," I said. There was more to it than that but I didn't know how to word it properly.  
  
The reporter didn't give any indication what his opinions of this may be and turned to grin at the camera instead. "Well there you have it folks. Now we'll take you back to your news studios. For Channel Two News this has been Gavin Crenshaw coming to you live from Luminopolis."  
  
Someone behind the camera called that we were off the air. As soon as they did I dropped my shoulders and gave my neck a crack.  
  
"Weren't prepared for all this attention falling in your lap, were you?" The reporter commented nonchalantly as he adjusted a cuff-link, his smile much more natural although no less irritating. "Well, as long as it makes for good viewing I'm not gonna complain."  
  
"Thanks," I said with an even stare.  
  
"Take my advice though," He said as he got up. "Don't yell all that 'leave it alone' stuff too loudly. You might annoy the wrong people and get yourself kicked out of the country club or whatever it is you do for fun. There's a lot of important people out there who're pretty interested in what could be locked up in that thing."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," I said with a sigh as I got up too, eager to get away from the staring camera lens.  
  
"What an unlikeable man," Clank commented as I walked over to him. He'd been sitting on the side-lines chatting up one of the boom-mic girls. I managed a grin at this as he seemed to immediately tune into my wavelength.  
  
"Next time we get Channel 64," I said as I sat down on our couch and shooed the girl away. The few employees of the news station were packing their things, getting ready to leave.  
  
"You are right though," Clank said.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"That if there is a chance what is learned from that temple is dangerous, it should be left alone."  
  
"Hey, I learned the hard way," I grinned at him. "Besides I wasn't kidding, Nefarious is still out there somewhere," I pulled a face, "and I didn't say it, but do you really want some space-shattering knowledge delivered into the hands of _Qwark_?"  
  
He gave a physical shudder at this and I found myself laughing at him.  
  
"I think I would prefer it being in the hands of Nefarious," He said. "At least he is insane instead of merely being moronic."  
  
"I'm still trying to decide which one's worse," I said as I got up to bid the news crew good-bye.  
  
I locked the door behind them. The interview might cause a drop in how much the press bothered us but I wasn't so stupid as to think it would stop it completely. The last thing I wanted to deal with right now was waking up one morning to find a reporter making waffles in my kitchen. and don't laugh. It happened once.  
  
"Do you think Talwyn will be upset with you?" Clank asked as we walked to the kitchen.  
  
"Wha-? Why?" I asked, honestly confused by the question.  
  
"Well," He shrugged. "Her father has spent the last ten years of his life focusing purely on this temple. Would she not be upset over you belittling it the way you did?"  
  
"Oh crap, I didn't think of that!" I bit my lip. "Yeah... yeah, she might be mad about that."  
  
"Well, I agree with you at least," Clank said as he started rooting around in a cupboard for a can of oil. "But I am not sure she would see it from the same perspective."  
  
I pulled a face to myself. "D'you think we should still call and ask if we can visit?"  
  
Clank tilted his head as he thought about this, cracking the can open. "Perhaps wait a day or so and see if she calls first to yell at you."  
  
"Girls don't yell," I said dejectedly. "They give you the cold shoulder and expect you to know what you did wrong."  
  
"But in this case you _do_ know." He pointed out.  
  
"Don't be so sure. She might be more mad that I was wearing the wrong shirt on camera or something instead," I grabbed some soda from the fridge.  
  
"Talwyn does not strike me as the type of person to care about such things."  
  
"You'd be surprised. Cheers."  
  


* * *

  
  
The interview did slow down how many phone-calls and uninvited visitors we got for the next few days but not by as much as I'd hoped. I was hoping the lack of new information on the temple would cause the media to get bored with the story and move on to something else like a celebrity wedding, but the lack of new info only seemed to egg them on harder.  
  
"You can't really blame them," a local hardware store owner told me when I had to drop by for a new high energy proton accelerator. "This story hits on a bunch of angles! It's got the long lost father story, the ancient forgotten ruin story, the mysterious secret, the involvement of two species, one some people claim don't even exist and the other extinct-"  
  
"We're not extinct," I interrupted him.  
  
"Right. Sorry," He gave me an awkward smile. "Sorry... but it's got the whole 'Great War' connection, as well as everything it means for Zoni studies and what we know about the galaxy's history. However to be honest, I think it's the whole mystery of it that's got people hooked," He raised his hands dramatically. "An ancient ruin, built by mysterious aliens but also by aliens who..." He gave me a sideways glance. "...are... not around any more. And why they modified the temple and what their motivations might have been!" He turned back to me with a shrug. "And what with the whole 'need to know' thing people have you gotta understand why they're camping out on your doorstep."  
  
"Right," I sighed, loading the HEPA into Aphelion. "Thanks."  
  
As much as I hated to admit it I knew he had a point. If there was one thing that got people going more than anything it was a mystery that needed to be solved. I understood this. Heck I'd be lying if I said I didn't wanna know some of those answers myself. Unlike most other people though I knew better than to go poking hornet nests with sticks just to see what happened.  
  
"Talwyn called," Clank informed me when I got in the cockpit.  
  
"Great," I sighed. "How mad is she?"  
  
"Actually she does not seem angry," He said as I got the ship moving to head home.  
  
"That's either really good or really bad," I nodded.  
  
"She asked that you call her back when we get home," He went on. "It sounded like she had something to discus with you."  
  
"Fantastic."  
  
Once I got Aphelion parked and removed the large engine part from the trunk and got it to a place where it couldn't be bumped and take out half the city, I gave the Apogee Space station another call. This time I got through.  
  
"Hi Ratchet!" Talwyn's face greeted me when she answered. She was smiling widely and I wasn't sure whether to be afraid for my life or not.  
  
"Hey Tal. Clank said you called?"  
  
"Yeah!" The smile stayed. It seemed to be a genuinely happy one and I relaxed a little. "I saw you were on TV. Sounded like the press is giving you just as hard a time as us huh?"  
  
I groaned and put my face in my hands. "When I was younger I actually liked being put on camera and asked stupid questions. Can you believe that? I must've been out of my mind."  
  
"No," Clank interrupted as he sat himself down on the couch. "You were just craving attention."  
  
"I'm guessing the glamour of fame wore off pretty fast," She giggled at me.  
  
"You could say that," I sighed.  
  
"Well listen. We got a doctor to say that dad needed some peace and quiet after being gone for so long so things have calmed down for us over here. I was wondering if you wanted to come for a visit?"  
  
Going to the Space Station was something Clank and I had been talking about because we wanted to hear from Talwyn personally what was going on and how she and her family were holding up with all this craziness, but now that it was actually offered I wasn't so sure if we should. Talwyn's dad was back. She hadn't seen him in ten years. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for the two of us to stomp into the picture and ruin what was probably an emotional reunion.  
  
"I dunno Tal..." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.  
  
"Ok, I admit I kinda have an ulterior motive," She said, putting her hands together and smiling at me mischievously. "I kinda wanna introduce you to my dad."  
  
I blinked at her. "Why?" Stupid question.  
  
She laughed at me. "Because you guys are my friends? Also," She bit her bottom lip. "I kinda sorta... wanna show off that the great Max Apogee's daughter is friends with the only lombax in the galaxy," She gave me a small shrug. "You know... he was researching the lombax secret and all... I just kinda wanted to show him what we did with all that research and... I dunno... that his work is important to me." She shrugged again but this time not at me. "That _he_ is important to me."  
  
I gave a long exhale as I thought for a moment.  
  
"Please?" She grinned at me again. "I got a new starship I'll let you take apart!"  
  
I snorted at this. "Alright alright. Geez."  
  
She smiled again, warmly this time. "Thanks, Ratchet. I'll see you in a day or so then?"  
  
"Sure," I nodded.  
  
"Alright! Take care! Bye Clank." The screen flicked off.  
  
I shook my head. "At least she's not mad, right?"  
  
"Looking at her I do not think anything at this point would be able to make her angry," Clank said.  
  
"Can you blame her?" I laughed. "She just got her dad back from the dead!"  
  
"I do not believe she ever thought he had been killed," Clank pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, but that's gotta be what it feels like," I sat back, staring at the blank TV screen.  
  
After a minute or so I realised Clank was still staring at me. I pulled a face at him. "What?"  
  
He gave me a rotational blink before leaning forward and picking up the remote. "Nothing."


	4. Max Apogee

I didn't know why I was so reluctant to go meet Talwyn's dad, especially after Clank and I had been planning to go see her at the space station anyway. But now that we were actually on our way I was feeling a little edgy about it. It was stupid and I couldn't figure out why I was so weirded out. Was it suppose to be a 'meet the parents' kind of nervousness? I'm not sure. It's not like Talwyn and I are a THING or anything. Sure there was an awkward period for a while but we're over that. Or at least I think we're over that. Are we over that?  
  
What was I suppose to say to the guy when I met him anyway? Come to think of it what's Talwyn suppose to say? 'Hey dad, this is my friend and he's like a real lombax and everything! See how cool I am?!'. Nah, Tal wouldn't do that... even though she confessed that's kinda what she was thinking to do anyway.  
  
'Yep. I'm a lombax. Got the tail and everything. So, what's being marooned like?' Oh yeah, this is gonna be a fun couple of days.  
  
 _"Should I go onto autopilot?"_ Aphelion's voice asked, snapping me back to the present.  
  
"Huh? No, I'm good. Why?"  
  
 _"We are drifting slightly. Perhaps you need to take a five minute break?"_  
  
"Nah, I'm just distracted, that's all," I said, adjusting the controls to correct our course.  
  
"That is not particularly something the passenger likes hearing from the pilot, Ratchet," Clank shot me a sideways look.  
  
"It's just this whole Max Apogee thing," I blurted out to my own surprise. "I mean what am I suppose to say to the guy exactly? Would he even give a crap as to who I am or, even better, what I am? What if he treats me like some zoo animal? What if he gets the wrong idea about me and his daughter and he's waiting to greet us at the front door with a shotgun?"  
  
"And strangely, that last one does not seem to be the possibility you sound most worked up about," Clank noted.  
  
"It's gonna be weird and awkward and I have no idea what we're suppose to talk about," I grumbled, slumping in my seat.  
  
"I think you are worrying too much," Clank said sympathetically. "You seem to have grown a bad habit of doing that."  
  
"You think so?"  
  
He nodded. "I do. If you are not sure what to discus, I have a few questions regarding the temple he discovered I want to ask."  
  
I gave him a sideways smile. "Thanks."  
  
Even with warp-drive it took a couple of hours before Apogee Space Station came into view. It pretty much looked the same as it always had and I was relieved to see that there wasn't anyone armed with a microphone waiting for us as I circled around to the docking bay.  
  
We got Aphelion settled and made our way to the elevator that took you to what I guess you call the 'front door'. As we approached it, the elevator came down from one of the higher floors and Talwyn walked out to greet us. She was alone which I was kinda grateful for, especially when she welcomed me with a tight hug.  
  
"About time you guys got here!" She said, beaming down at Clank in greeting.  
  
"If we are late it is Ratchet's fault," He said, returning the smile.  
  
"Only 'cause according to you it's always my fault," I give him a nudge from behind before turning back to Tal. "How's your dad? Keeping up ok with all this..." I waved my hand at the docking bay doors behind us. "...reporter news stuff?"  
  
"Better than I am!" She said as she led us back to the elevator. "It's like the whole galaxy has gone nuts! You'd think they'd never found a Zoni temple before."  
  
"Is that what they have mostly been asking about?" Clank asked.  
  
She nodded, leaning against the elevator's back as it climbed to the atrium. "Yeah. Even before dad told them everything, all they really wanted to know about was what exactly he'd been doing on that forsaken planet besides just surviving. You know it's like they expected him to come back with some ground-breaking discovery simply based on who he is," She pouted to herself. "The fact that they turned out to be right hasn't exactly calmed them down."  
  
"And how're you doing?" I asked. "Your answering machine said you shot a reporter."  
  
"I shot AT a reporter," She corrected me. "I wasn't trying to hit him but he was one of the pushier ones. You know the type. The kind that will shoot their leg forward when you're trying to close the door? He'd been hovering around for almost two days before I had to find a more direct way to let him know he'd overstayed his welcome."  
  
"So you shot at him," I chuckled.  
  
She threw up her hands. "With a regular blaster! It wasn't even modified! It burnt his eyebrows off and scorched a wall! That's it! Anyway it seemed to do the job. They guy streaked out of here so fast I thought he was gonna smash straight through one of our asteroids. Too bad not all of them took the hint." The elevator reached the atrium and she exited, leading us down a path to the main entrance. "And dad said I shouldn't shoot any-one else. Said it was bad publicity or something. How can he think about publicity! I mean doesn't he realise he should be taking it easy after what happened to him?!"  
  
"Er... I dunno?" I gave a nervous shrug.  
  
She blew out an irritable breath. "Anyway, we saw you on TV and I realised I hadn't even told him I knew you what with everything that's been going on, and I figured maybe he'd like to meet you." She gave me a guilty look. "I hope you don't mind."  
  
I gave another shrug.  
  
"You're sweet." She smiled.  
  
"Well hello there rookies!" Came a loud greeting as we left the atrium and started walking up one of the staircases to the main interior. I noticed as we walked through the entrance-dome that there was a large pile of crates and boxes stacked around. Not the usual kind I mean. These all had different labels and numbers stenciled on them.  
  
"Hey Guys," I replied to the welcome with a grin. "Still holding out with all the excitement?"  
  
"Enh, we can handle a few nosy nellies! Why back when Miss Talwyn was just a young thing we would hold off whole hordes of ruthless news teams with nothing but our cleaning equipment and one heavy duty sledgehammer!" Kronk said as we walked into the main living room of the Apogee station.  
  
"I believe it was actually a telescope," His partner Zephyr said. "A big 'un if I recall. Use to use it to spot ships approaching before we got all this fancy scanning equipment set up."  
  
"No no, we got rid of the telescope ages ago you old fool!" Kronk started. "The scanning equipment was put in when Max was still a young 'un remember?"  
  
"Actually, I only built the station when I was about 20," a third voice joined the argument.  
  
Max Apogee was a large man. I mean large as in height, not girth. His shoulders were wide and for a moment I got a mental image of Qwark as the explorer dusted something off his strong looking hands. He looked nothing like Talwyn, I noticed. Talwyn was only a couple of inches taller than I was and thinly built. This man reminded me more of an agorian... made of bricks. He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and a button-down shirt which had its collar undone. His arms were thicker than my waist. He had hair the same colour as Tal's which looked like it had recently been cut and a dark goatee which framed a large, welcoming smile, giving the effect that his face was 80% mouth. He had dark coloured eyes and thick eyebrows, although all his hair had streaks of grey in it in odd places and his face had clear lines on it making it difficult to try and judge how old he was.  
  
"Are you sure? I'm positive I have vids in my memory banks of you waddling around the atrium in footie pajamas," Kronk said, rubbing a chin with a slight scraping sound.  
  
"I think that might've been me, Kronk," Talwyn said as she patted his arm, walking past him to stand next to her father. She then turned to me. "Daddy, This is Ratchet and his friend Clank. They were suppose to be here earlier," She shot me a look, "But They got caught up."  
  
"Er... ..Hi," I said stupidly.  
  
The explorer's smile somehow widened and before I knew it he'd grabbed me by the hand and was shaking it a little harder than I was comfortable with. "So you're the kid my Talwyn decided to hide from me until yesterday! Max Apogee, although I'm pretty sure you already knew that. The news isn't making it hard to forget it, enh?" He gave a laugh. It was loud and booming. I gave a nervous chuckle in reply, pulling my hand away before any more damage could be done to it.  
  
"And where in the big wide galaxy did you fall from?" He grinned as he turned to the room's seating, motioning for us to follow. Kronk and Zephyr wandered off to go back to whatever it is they did all day, still arguing about when the space station was actually built.  
  
"Solana... actually," I said, rubbing my knuckles.  
  
"Veldin, to be precise," Clank added.  
  
"Veldin? Can't say I know it, but then I've only been to Solana a handful of times," He flopped into an armchair which I can only describe as 'this is where the man of the house sits and heaven help you if you forget it'.  
  
"It's not exactly the most famous of places," I explained as I sat down on the couch.  
  
"I'll get us some coffee. Who wants what?" Talwyn said, leaning her hands on the couch's back.  
  
"Black for me, love," Max said with another large smile. "And put as much sugar as what's considered decent in it. I think I can get away with some indulging for a while, enh?" The second sentence was directed at me but I wasn't sure how to respond to it.  
  
"You got it, dad," She gave the back of my shoulder a tap. "Tea, right?"  
  
I nodded. "With breegus nectar." I focused back on Max. "What's with all the crates in the entrance-way?"  
  
"Ah you saw those, huh?" He said enthusiastically. "A few souvenirs I managed to bring back that weren't snatched up by every archaeological society in Polaris." At some point he was gonna need to stop smiling or his face would split. "Nothing of real value. Just knick knacks, odds and ends. A lot of them I'm not even sure what they're suppose to be! But hey, if we can figure it out I know there's gonna be some museum somewhere eager to take them off my hands."  
  
"Are they from the Zoni temple?" Clank asked with what I recognised to be a guarded tone of voice.  
  
Max waved a hand at him. "No no. Everything from the temple find is being handled by the Polaris Institute of Research or whoever handles Archaeology these days. No, these are just what I had on me when those damn pirates led me on their wild goose chase."  
  
He lifted an eyebrow at Talwyn's back as she left the room to get the drinks. He then turned back to me, his smile less over-powering.  
  
"She talked you into coming here, didn't she?"  
  
"we-ell." I gave a half-shrug before running a hand over my helmet. "I er... I don't really mind... we wanted to get away from the press' attention..."  
  
He laughed again. "Relax boy. I was just asking a question. I know my Tal. She's always been a daddy's girl. I figured when she said you were coming to visits us right after telling me about you that she was trying to show you off or something."  
  
"Something like that," I smiled.  
  
"She's a good girl. But relax a little will you?" He leaned back in the chair. "I think after ten years of nothing but working every day I could do with a bit of a break, don't you? I'm not gonna start poking you to see how you work."  
  
"You seem to be coping well with the ordeal, sir," Clank interrupted. "I imagine the media has been over dramatising events a little."  
  
"They'll have you believe I was wrestling monsters every evening before bed," He nodded. Talwyn came back in with the tea. "Now don't get me wrong, it was no picnic, but for a long time it felt a lot like my college days where we got thrown on a dig and had to figure out the best way to document things we found with what we had." He took his coffee from Talwyn. "Granted there were no other students getting their thumbs cut on shovels like in college."  
  
"I still think you should try and relax a little more, though," Talwyn spoke up, handing me a mug before sitting down on a different armchair. "No-one expects you to just be back to normal after only a week or two, daddy."  
  
"She's worse than her mother," He grinned at me, pointing at Talwyn with his spoon.  
  
"Is the temple really as impressive as the news would have one believe?" Clank spoke up again. "They seem sincere, but Ratchet always says I am too eager to believe what people say."  
  
"Oh no, it's magnificent!" He said, putting his coffee mug down on the table. "Like nothing I'd ever seen before! Every day I thought I'd have grown use to seeing it when I got up and every day I'd find something new to amaze me all over again!" He sat back again and chuckled. "I'm almost sorry to have to share it with the rest of the galaxy now."  
  
"Oh dad, there's plenty of other things you can focus on instead," Talwyn reprimanded him over her own mug.  
  
"Having some updated reference books is one thing!" He said. "Some of the artifacts I had with me from the crash I've been puzzling over for years! If only I'd known some genius had already figured them out it could've spared me a lot of headaches! I'll admit I am a little jealous though, there were a few pieces I'd have liked to be named after me instead, but then them's the breaks. At least it's making cataloguing everything easier when I can just open a book and match it with whatever I'm holding in my hand. Still," He picked up his coffee again, "There's a few items it seems no-one's been able to figure out. Maybe I'll have my chance at getting something named after all, huh?"  
  
"He's obsessed," Talwyn gave me a hopeless look, causing me to laugh.  
  
"You should actually look through some of the finds I brought with me," Max said, indicating towards me with his mug. "There's some items there from Fastoon and a few other lombax colonies. Maybe something you could get some use out of."  
  
"I dunno," I said. "I mean... that stuff kinda belongs to someone, don't they?"  
  
Max burst out laughing. "You sound like some of the Archaeological Society's critics! But think about it, boy. These are lombax artifacts. Therefore they belong to the galaxy's lombax population which, currently, consists of you. Therefore-ergo, they belong to you anyway. Just er..." He leaned forward as if telling me a secret. "Do me a favour and don't tell the society I said that. Last thing I want them to know is that I was the cause of a claims suit."  
  
"Perhaps there are some useful gadgetry among what Mr. Apogee has found," Clank reasoned.  
  
"Maybe you're right," I nodded and gave a shrug.  
  
"That's the spirit!" Max downed the last of his coffee before putting the mug down rather hard on the table. "And it gives me a chance to show off some of my prize items! Talwyn here seems to have gotten bored hearing about them."  
  
"That's because you've shown them to me eight times already," She shook her head with a smile, moving to pick up the mug. "But I suggest if you're gonna let dad drag you around showing you every screwdriver he found, you should wait until tomorrow." This she said to me. "It's getting late already and you guys are probably tired from the flight."  
  
"Actually we're..." She gave me a pointed stare and I quickly nodded. "Oh.. Oh yeah! Yeah I think some sleep might be good."  
  
"That means you too, dad," She said, walking over to him and petting him on the shoulder. "Come on. I don't care what you say, the doctor said you needed to take it easy and get adjusted slowly."  
  
"I keep telling everyone I'm fine," He gave me a smile as he got up. "But you try arguing with a girl when she's got someone with a medical degree behind her. Not to mention a rocket launcher." He mussed her hair despite her best efforts to duck.  
  


* * *

  
  
Talwyn always had a guest room she kept empty. It was the one I'd used for almost a whole year while Clank had been missing. I wasn't sure if there was more than one in the space station. There probably was. I always tended to gravitate to the same one.  
  
"He seems nice," Clank said as I struggled with my boot straps.  
  
"Yeah," I grunted. "A little overwhelming but he doesn't seem like such a bad guy."  
  
"I am surprised he is as well adjusted as he is," Clank went on. "I would think a traumatic experience such as what he went through would cause a person some distress."  
  
I gave a shrug as I unclipped my helmet and pulled it off, taking a moment to shake my fur loose. "Some people are just made of stronger stuff than others."  
  
"Perhaps," He nodded before turning to leave the room. "I am going to find Kronk and Zephyr. I would like to know how things are from someone outside of the father-daughter relationship."  
  
"That's called 'snooping around' you know," I grinned at him.  
  
"It is called 'intelligence gathering'"  
  
"It's called Spying."  
  
"Agreed," He gave me something like a grin and left the room. I just shook my head at him.


	5. The Paperweight

"Sooo.. what the heck is this suppose to be?" I asked, lifting the piece of whatever from a box.  
  
Max gave the object a quick glance over his shoulder before ducking back in his own crate. "Oh, that's a collapsible hanger, although I haven't been able to figure out how to get it un-collapsed yet."  
  
"Why would you want a hanger that can collapse?" I frowned at it. "Ok, sure if you're traveling, but if you're traveling you're not really gonna find many places to hang up clothes, right?"  
  
Max gave another of his loud laughs. "You'd make a great archaeologist, asking questions like that."  
  
"It's just common sense," I said, tossing it back in the open box. "I just don't get why anyone would need one."  
  
"I could say something about 'things that exist that no-one would need'," Clank spoke up, currently inspecting some stone slabs with engraved writing on it I couldn't even begin to understand.  
  
"Oh yeah?" I crossed my arms as I smirked at him.  
  
"I could. But I won't," He said, moving to look at a second slab as he flashed me a grin.  
  
"Damn right." I ducked back into the crate, digging around the various pieces of stone, foam peanuts, now and then a metallic object and other odds and ends that weren't considered important enough to wrap in bubble-wrap or any other kind of protection.  
  
Max Apogee's collection that he'd brought with him was impressive, I'll admit it, but a lot of it was stuff that had to be more than a couple hundred years old. Nothing wrong with that of course, but not exactly my greatest interest as far as... well... 'stuff' goes. I like my stuff to be more recent. Unless it was some ancient artifact that turns out to be a new clean energy source, of course. Or an ancient rocket-sled of some kind. But most of the stuff Max had collected, even though they were suppose to be lombax in nature, were so old I couldn't really feel any kind of link to them. I wasn't sure if that was wrong of me or not. I felt like I was suppose to connect to this stuff on some level. Like it was suppose to mean something to me. But all I could do was look through it and think to myself, 'junk'.  
  
"That book of any help?" I asked Max instead, sitting down on top of an unopened crate.  
  
"It's doing most of my work for me!" He shot me another wide grin. "But don't tell the society that, I still have to make a living, you know."  
  
I gave a chuckle. "I promise."  
  
"Where did you find these?" Clank asked, pointing at some stone-carved statue things that were far too big for him to lift.  
  
"Oh those!" Max put down what looked like an ancient jam-jar and hurried over to him with what I could tell was a 'I'm about to give you a whole encyclopaedia entry' look on his face. "I found these while on Jasindu when I was relocating the lombax secret."  
  
"The dimensionator," I interrupted.  
  
He nodded. "Right. While there I came across several artifacts in a bombed-out warehouse. As far as I could tell the structure had been used to store several items from different time periods in one place." He shot me another grin. "Probably by the lombaxes' own archaeological unit. Sadly a lot of the items there were badly damaged by what I'm guessing was Cragmite explosives during the Great War. However a few items of interest survived and I thought it was better to bring them back rather than let them rot in some jungle."  
  
There was a sudden pause at this and I noticed his grin stiffen slightly. It was only for a moment though before he gave a small shake of his head and grinned at me again.  
  
"Finding anything interesting there?" He asked.  
  
I blinked, a little confused by this sudden flicker of what I don't know. "Er... uhm I don't really know." I turned back to the crate I'd been going through which, in truth, held nothing interesting to me. "I think everything in this one's a little too old for me to really do anything with."  
  
"So crack open another one!" He urged me eagerly, going back to his book and his own crate.  
  
Clank was still mulling over the statues he'd asked about. I was no expert of any kind, but they reminded me of the Fongoid ruins I'd walked around on various occasions. And where you found Fongoids, you usually found Zoni. I connected the dots in my head and realised that Clank was not so much going over the things in boxes to find something useful, as he was trying to find things taken from the zoni. In this case Clank would interpret 'taken' more as 'stolen'. I didn't blame him though.  
  
….so why didn't I give a crap that Max had taken literally cases-full of lombax items? I was starting to think there was something wrong with me or something. Denial probably.  
  
I took Max's advice and got down off the crate I'd been sitting on, pulling my wrench free from its place on my belt and using it to pry open the top. Nails pulled themselves free and I slid the covering to one side, peering inside to see what I'd just opened. This box looked less like a bargain bin in a street market and more like a box that belonged to someone who was moving house and didn't want its contents to break. That was a promising start at least.  
  
I put my hands in, moving aside foam peanuts as I pulled something wrapped in cloth closer. It was heavier than it looked and I had to lift it out before I could unwrap it. The cloth fell away from something long and metallic that had clearly been lying fully exposed to the elements for a long time. There was rust on it and it had mostly turned a dull reddish black.  
  
"Can't for the life of me figure that one out!" Max called over my shoulder when he saw what I was looking at. "My guess is it broke off something bigger but I wasn't able to figure out what. Kinda thought it was a wrench at first. Those mech-crazy guys had a thing for those." He gave a chuckle. "Something I see runs in the blood."  
  
"It _is_ a wrench," I said, turning to walk over to him, the broken piece of tool in my hand.  
  
His smile dropped a little as he raised an eyebrow at me. "A little too big isn't it? I was thinking more along the lines of a handle of some kind."  
  
I shook my head. "No no no. it's definitely a wrench." I shifted it to one hand and pointed to the end that didn't have the overly large prongs on it. "See, it's broken in half but it's part of a double-sided wrench. They're called..." I thought for a moment, trying to remember the name. "..Praetorian omni-wrenches. See, the head on this side is suppose to be on that side too. It's also suppose to..." I frowned, taking it in both hands again and twisting it in my grip. "Gimme a sec."  
  
I made sure to turn the weapon away from Max and Clank, focusing it out the doorway to the Atrium, aiming for a large rock. I felt around the corroded handle until I was sure I had my hands in the right place before I fired.  
  
Only nothing happened.  
  
I sighed, turning back to Max. "Guess it's out of juice." I looked up to give him a shrug but stopped when I realised he was staring at me as if I'd lost my mind. "Oh er... see it's suppose to shoot out negative energy. I guess getting snapped in half and left in the rain wasn't very good for it, though."  
  
"How in the big wide world do you know all this?" Max asked, sounding completely dumbstruck.  
  
I twisted the handle in my grip again idly. "I have a working one at home." That was about as much as I wanted to talk about it.  
  
Max gave a laugh and slapped me on the back so hard I had to take a step forward to stop myself from falling over. "Kid, you just solved something I'd been puzzling over for years in about five minutes!"  
  
"It's easy when you know what you're looking at," I brushed the compliment away, handing him the weapon. "I don't think that one's gonna be doing much damage any more, though."  
  
"Pity," He said, taking it from me and inspecting it with a new interest. "Most of the Praetorian guard's weaponry is lost knowledge. Almost all of them left the galaxy with the rest of the species. Now and then you'll find something from them but its usually badly damaged or scrapped for parts by someone else."  
  
I watched him look over what to me was a worthless piece of scrap-metal with eagerness and an almost hunger. Something poked me in the back of my mind and I found myself speaking up. "I could show you the one I have. Just so you get an idea of what they do and stuff."  
  
Another giant grin. "You'd be giving me my birthday present early if you did, Ratchet!" A heavy hand fell on my shoulder. "I should've gone to fetch you off Veldin YEARS ago if I knew what you could tell me."  
  
His enthusiasm was catchy and I grinned back. "Not bad for someone who can't even read the stuff, huh?"  
  
I wasn't sure how possible it was but somehow he actually stopped mid-laugh to stare at me again. "You're kidding."  
  
I silently kicked myself for opening my big-mouth and embarrassing myself. I hid it with a shrug. "Never got the chance to learn Lombax. There's not really a lot of it in Solana. Even less on Veldin."  
  
"Well we're just gonna have to work on fixing that, won't we?" Another hard pat on the shoulder. I was gonna have bruises from all this positive reinforcement before this weekend was over. "It's not that hard once you get the hang of it. Talwyn learned it when she was seven or so. I'm surprised she hasn't taught you any of it herself."  
  
"A lot of things happened in the past few years," Clank spoke up, walking over with what looked like half a book under an arm. "It has not really been the best time for studying anything that required concentration." He held up the book. "May I take this to our room? I would like to look through it more intensively."  
  
"Whatcha got there?" I nodded at the book.  
  
He opened it and paged through it a little. "It appears to be a record of Fongoid ruins found in the Terminus sector made by an exhibition team quite some time ago. I would like to go over it and perhaps make some notes on where these temples are located and what they looked like before they became widely known."  
  
"I'm guessing _he's_ the academic one," Max grinned at me before turning back to Clank. "As long as you don't make lampshades out of the pages or anything I don't see the harm in it."  
  
"Thank you," He said, turning to leave while still paging through the book, although that didn't stop him giving my knee a tap with a fist as he passed me. "Lunch is at two."  
  
"Yeah yeah yeah," I waved him off. "Embarrass me in front of other people why don't you."  
  
I wasn't sure if he heard me as he kept going over the damaged book. I almost wanted to follow him to see if he'd walk into anything while reading it but decided not to. I still had a whole crate I wanted to go through.  
  
"He's kinda small to be giving you orders, isn't he?" Max said as he unwrapped something from his own crate. He didn't sound too serious though.  
  
I shrugged and made a noise. "I kinda get the feeling he only does it because he's got nothing better to do."  
  
"What's his primary directive?" Max asked, looking over the clay bowl he'd uncovered before paging through his reference book.  
  
"I have no idea," I lied. I wasn't sure if telling someone I hardly knew Clank was suppose to be the guardian of the space time continuum was a good idea. They'd either think I was crazy, or worse, they'd believe me.  
  
Max turned to me with a puzzled frown. "You built him and you don't know his prime directive?"  
  
"Huh? No I didn't build him," I shook my head.  
  
Max put down the bowl. "Really? That's strange. I could've sworn..." He rubbed his goatee. "So where'd you get him, then? He doesn't strike me as the kind of model one just buys at a discount supermarket."  
  
I wasn't sure if that was considered a racist remark or not. "We just kinda bumped into each other," I explained. "Things happened and we've just stuck together."  
  
Max gave me a blank look. "Riveting story, kid."  
  
I shrugged again and purposefully went back to dig through the crate. "We're best friends. It kinda just happened."  
  
"Don't worry," I heard him say. I could actually hear the smile. "I'll get Talwyn to tell me the whole story later."  
  
I said nothing to this. I didn't really mind if Talwyn decided to tell the entire saga involving Drek or not. It was a long story and I didn't feel like telling the entire thing right at this moment.  
  
"Ah! Now here's something that's been driving me nuts forever!" Max said after a few minutes.  
  
I looked up from the engine part I was doing my hardest not to disassemble and got up to see what he was talking about. He held up his hand to show me a cubic item that had seen better days. It was about the size of an orange... a cubic orange, and it was black in colour. It looked like it had lines of a more metallic silver on it but I couldn't be sure. A lot of it had faded or chipped away. The rest of it was scuffed and had a few obvious scratch marks on it.  
  
"See, now this one's more recent than some of the other finds I made," Max went on, going over the cube and frowning at it. "Not sure exactly, but I'd date it as either being made near the end of the Great War or the beginning of Tachyon's war. See, as soon as a species starts making things look ornate you know they've got more time on their hands because they're not worried about getting bombed at the moment."  
  
I stared at it but other than being a strange looking cube I didn't see anything it could've been used for. "Paperweight?" I suggested.  
  
"Only paper Lombaxes used was for blueprints of things, and that's not usually the kind of thing you'd weigh down with a big fancy thing like this," He smiled at me. "I'll figure it out one of these days though! Maybe name it after myself or something. Unless some-one's beat me too it," He chuckled and shook the reference book in his other hand meaningfully. "Kinda wish they have. This one's kept me up at nights on a few occasions."  
  
"In that case, wouldn't you like to figure it out yourself?" I asked. "Y'know, just out of spite?"  
  
"You bet your life," He laughed. "But sometimes the urge to know is stronger than the time it'd take to try and figure it out by yourself." He gave a deep-chested sigh. "And a lot of these things I think I've tried long enough to figure out."  
  
The brief flash of melancholy disappeared and he turned to shake the paperweight at me again. "But this one's a special bastard! And it needs to be cracked one way or the other!"  
  
"As long as it doesn't summon some giant hell-beast, sure," I nodded.  
  
He pulled a face at me. "what is it you and that robot do for fun?"  
  
"Don't even ask."  
  


* * *

  
  
That evening we'd settled in the Space Station's living room. It turned out that Talwyn and Max had also gotten into the habit of watching the news in the evening to keep up with what the rest of the galaxy was saying about us.  
  
It was at times like this that I really felt like an outsider in this place. You and your small group of friends sit on the sidelines and watch as the entire rest of the galaxy talk amongst themselves about you as if you couldn't hear them. Usually when I started feeling like this for too long it was time to pack up and go back to Kyzil Plateau on Veldin. After my interview though, the press had gone back to primarily focusing on Max and the zoni temple. I couldn't really decide how I felt about this. No more reporters is always a good thing, but it did feel a little bit like they'd gotten what they wanted out of me and had now thrown me aside when I stopped being entertaining.  
  
The news had very little to report on, and it was starting to show. There were still whole teams of scientists and researches working on the temple to try and find out why it was built, why it was modified, and why none of them had every heard of or spotted it before. The report itself was merely repeating old information at this point and assuring its viewers that interesting crap was sure to happen one of these days involving the place. They were probably hoping they'd find a mummy or something just to make things interesting.  
  
"I'd better get to work on identifying some of this stuff, enh?" Max said when the news went on to talk about the Vullards and whether or not they could be counted as robotic. "Sounds like they're running a little dry on material."  
  
"Good," Talwyn huffed. "It's about time they found something else to talk about for a while."  
  
"Think they're a little disappointed in me for not coming back with some major space-shattering discovery?" Max said, smiling at his daughter.  
  
"You came back with a giant temple, dad," She shook her head at him. "I'm pretty sure you couldn't have found something better if you tried."  
  
Max gave something between a laugh and a scoff at this. He turned his attention to Clank instead. "I don't suppose you've found anything in _there_ that's gonna change the world, have you?"  
  
Clank looked up from the book he had open on his legs. "Actually, it is quite fascinating."  
  
"Fascinating for you or for me Clank?" I asked him.  
  
He thought for a moment. "Probably more fascinating for me."  
  
I gave a nod. "Then I'm afraid I don't think the ADD suffering news is gonna care much. Sorry, pal."  
  
Clank turned back to what I was starting to suspect had become _his_ book. "I will let you know if I find anything about a starship made of gold or anything along those lines."  
  
"We had one of those once didn't we?" Zephyr turned to Kronk. "Back when we were under siege by those Valkyries who wanted to steal it and or marry us."  
  
"That was the plot of last week's 'Unicop' you senile old fool!" Kronk said with some dramatic waves of his arms.  
  
"Ugh. Are they still playing reruns of that thing?" Talwyn wrinkled her nose.  
  
"Just until Qwark's new movie comes out," I said with a sigh. "Don't ask me what it's called. I made it a point to forget the name."  
  
The evening went on with some small talk before the night's movie came on, fortunately Qwark free. We found ourselves watching it simply because it was on and we ended up focusing more on the screen than saying anything to keep a conversation going. Clank was still buried in his book and it didn't look like he was gonna stop reading it any time soon. Max sat and watched for a few minutes before he got up and walked out for a while. When he came back he had the paperweight and the reference book under one arm.  
  
"Dad, can't you just relax for five minutes?" Talwyn scolded him.  
  
He laughed at her. "Sorry love, but I have to be sure no-one else's figured out what this thing is before I go to bed or it's gonna keep me up all night."  
  
'Again' I added mentally.  
  
Talwyn gave a deep, exaggerated sigh but left him alone. Kronk and Zephyr were occupying most of the couch, both snoring noisily so we ended up having to turn up the volume. Max was absorbed in his reference book, going through each entry as he tried to match it with the black cube. About halfway into the movie's third act he closed the reference book with a grumble and picked up the cube, turning it around in his hands and frowning at it, as if trying to psyche and explanation out of it.  
  
By the time the credits rolled he had prodded it with everything his pocket-knife had to offer and even tried to see if it had any moving parts that could be turned and were merely stuck. By the looks of things this little exercise was something he'd done many many times before.  
  
Talwyn stretched herself with a noise. I was amused to see that even though they'd slept like logs throughout the entire loud film, a flinch from Talwyn had both her guardian robots wake up and mumble in confusion.  
  
"I think it's time we all hit the hay for the night," She said. It didn't take a genius to figure out she was mostly addressing her father.  
  
Max sighed, lowering the cube he was currently inspecting through a magnifying scope. "You're probably right, love. I don't think I'm gonna make any more progress on this accursed thing than I've managed in the last ten years." There was a slight bitterness to his tone of voice.  
  
"It'll still be there tomorrow morning, dad," She smiled at him warmly. "Unless Zephyr mistakes it for a doorstop or something."  
  
"No need to insult me, miss!" Zephyr said. "It doesn't look anythin' like a doorstop!" He peered over the coffee table at the thing in Max's hand. "A paperweight. Now that makes a lot more sense."  
  
I laughed. "See? I told you."  
  
"No way it's a paperweight. I don't care what you two say," Max said with mock annoyance.  
  
"Does it even have any cracks that say it can open?" I asked, holding my hand out for it so I could get a better look.  
  
"With all the scuffs and scratches it has, it's hard to make out anything like a crack on it. Besides, I've never seen a lombax artifact that wasn't made obsessively precise. Even if it had cracks there's probably no way you'd see 'em."  
  
He handed me the cube. I turned it over in my hands, trying to find any tell-tale signs of pieces that fit together or could be moved somehow. When I couldn't find anything I held it in my palm and frowned at it. The silver lines that ran across the thing were clearer than I'd first thought. They ran in straight lines before suddenly taking sharp 90 degree turns, sometimes combining in places and sometimes ending in a dead-end punctuated with a large circle. They actually seemed to have other straight lines across the thing's surface as I looked harder at it. These were black against black though and harder to see unlike the silver lines which contrasted sharply with the black. What was that? Obsidian? I had no idea. In fact the lines themselves looked a little whiter than just silver. They had a faint glow to them too. …wait what?  
  
I was about to say something to catch the two markazians' attention when the thing did it for me. All along the larger white lines the thing completely came apart. But instead of falling to pieces like I was expecting it to, the pieces seemed to remain where they were, held by what I was guessing was some kind of magnetism as they floated around what turned out to be a central white orb.  
  
"What did you do?!" Max's voice said, rather loudly.  
  
"I dunno!" I said, keeping my eyes focused on the thing. "I didn't do anything!"  
  
A thin beam of light shot out of the no-longer-cube upwards. It then divided into two which then split away from each other like a book opening. Between them a semi-circular screen appeared. On it information started scrolling itself while a diagram appeared on the left side. It looked to be a cross-section of something but I was too confused by this sudden event than to try and get a detailed look as to what it was. It seemed familiar though.  
  
"It's Rykan V all over again," Talwyn said. She sounded like she was afraid to raise her voice above a certain level.  
  
"What happened on Rykan V?" Max asked but he didn't sound like he really cared. His eyes were staring at the screen that had opened itself up.  
  
At first Talwyn said nothing as if she hadn't heard him. She then shook her head as she regained her senses. "When I was looking for the Lombax Secret a few years ago we found an artifact on Rykan V. Damn thing refused to budge though until Ratchet," She nodded her head towards me, "touched it. Then it was suddenly all too eager to show us where to go next."  
  
"Yeah, I remember that," I nodded, turning to look at Max. "The thing Talwyn found looked kinda different than this though," I gave a sheepish chuckle. "I feel kinda stupid now for not thinking of it earlier."  
  
Max was staring at me. Actually it was more like Max was boring into my skull with his eyes. I blinked back at him, not sure what he was thinking.  
  
"Where on Rykan V did you find this thing?" He asked. I wasn't sure if he was asking me or Talwyn. He was still staring at me.  
  
Talwyn was the one who decided to answer though. "We were looking for the Lombax Secret, like I said. We found a lombax bunker where it must've been kept for a while before it was moved."  
  
"A lombax bunker?" Max finally turned to look at Talwyn instead. "And how did you manage to get inside _that_?"  
  
Talwyn smiled at him and pointed at me. Max turned back to stare at me again. I was starting to feel uncomfortable. I gave a shrug.  
  
"Weird things seem to bee happening to me lately."  
  
"Only when we get involved with anything lombax-related," Talwyn pointed out.  
  
"Yeah," I frowned. "I mean, besides the obvious answer that I'm one of 'em, what exactly is up with that? I've never heard of anything like that before."  
  
"It's a genetic lock," Max said, still staring.  
  
"A what?" I turned to look at Talwyn but it was Clank who answered.  
  
"A genetic lock is a theoretical invention which is, as it says, a lock which can only be unlocked by a designated species, family bloodline, specific individuals or predetermined DNA," He said as if reading it off a textbook. "It has existed in theory for many centuries."  
  
"Except," Max interrupted, "For the fact that the lombaxes, clever as they were, had figured out how to actually make the damn things. And the lombaxes, _secretive_ as they were, have never shared the information of how they managed to do it. Even if they recorded how to do it they probably locked those plans just as tightly as this one. And seeing as the entire species up and left the galaxy there's never really been much hope to find those plans."  
  
I put the cube down on the table. It was getting heavy. It clipped itself shut again as soon as I let go of it, the holo-screen swallowed back up among the moving parts as it clicked shut.  
  
"erm... sorry if I... y'know... just kinda stole your big moment," I said to Max.  
  
He gave a chuckle at this "Not at all, my boy. In fact," He gave me a wide smile, a glimmer in his eyes, "I think Tomorrow we should try and find out what _else_ I've got you might be able to help with."


	6. Work

"No no no. That doesn't make sense. Here gimme that," I didn't bother waiting for a response, taking the white pencil and leaning forward over the large paper, quickly making adjustments to the blueprint we'd been trying to reconstruct. I knew I was being pushy but we were in my ballpark at the moment. I corrected the design where I saw Max had been misinterpreting the original it. I held the cube in my left hand and scribbled with my right, giving the holo-screen a few quick glances.  
  
"Read that line will ya?" I asked as I worked quickly.  
  
"Steel of interior to be folded 15 times before forging continues," Max read the lombax script next to the spinning picture of the object I'd been too distracted to identify last night. It turned out to be design notes on the Praetorian omni-wrench which explained the lock on the thing so only another lombax could use it. I quickly jotted down the notes next to the technical drawing of the wrench I'd made and wrote some indications before handing the pencil back to Max.  
  
"You sure you don't want to do the whole thing by yourself?" He laughed at me as he took it.  
  
"No it's fine," I said, despite the fact that 70% of the blueprint was already done by me. "It's just... kinda obvious mechanics aren't your strong point," I gave him a grin.  
  
"I usually had people to do stuff like this," Max defended himself.  
  
"While you focused on rocks, right?" I went on, jumping up to sit on the desk, the cube held in both hands so he could read the design notes.  
  
"Hey! You can learn a lot from rocks, kid!" He waved the pencil at me. "And if people took it upon themselves to carve words into them then all the better!"  
  
I laughed. "So how is carving on a rock better than programming one of these whatever it is?"  
  
"Well, for one thing I wouldn't need a kid smart mouthing me," He countered, shooting me a wide smile.  
  
"You give as good as you get," I snickered, tossing the cube up and town slightly in one hand.  
  
"I can't read it when you do that," He complained as he added a few notes to the blueprint.  
  
"Huh huh," I said although I wasn't really listening, I was watching him write, making sure he wasn't making any mistakes in copying the info down. It really took everything I had not to push him out of the way and make adjustments to the design to improve it. That wasn't the point of this little exercise. We were just recording the information to an easier to read format to be sent to whatever society Max was affiliated with.  
  
It'd been two days since we figured out the only way for the cube to open up and show its info was for me to either hold it or put my hands on it in some way or another. The day after that we went through the crates like a hurricane, trying to find other things that looked like they might be locked or hiding something. The way we were going you'd swear we were expecting everything we came across to be a locked box. In the end though, we only found two other objects that reacted differently when I touched them.  
  
The first was another wrench. Not a Praetorian one but a regular omni-wrench like the one I used. Someone must've modified it at some point because when I picked it up it's head became magnetically charged. It was a little like my own wrench's charge although we figured out the magnetism could actually be used like a projectile with this one. I kinda hoped Max would let me keep it but I knew better than to ask. I'd just have to remember it and try to modify my Millennium 12 to have the same feature if I could figure out how it was done. I wasn't sure why it was locked but Max told me that it was probably left over from the Great War and whoever owned it didn't want any Kragmites picking it up and using it.  
  
The other thing we found that reacted to me was another paperweight looking object, this one triangular. However unlike the first one the screen it displayed was corrupted and flickered meaninglessly. It was impossible to try and make out anything and after a few minutes of trying to figure it out, the thing sparked and its pieces fell apart in my hands. I tried to fix it although I had no idea why I thought I'd be able to. In the end I had to give up. Fixing a complex data-storage device wasn't exactly the same as hammering on an engine until it behaved itself. Max and I eventually accepted it was completely broken and put it aside.  
  
Having run out of stuff I could poke and even trying out some stuff that looked and indeed turned out to be completely normal, we started focusing on the first data device. Max suggested we copy the info down so he could show it to the Polaris Institute of Research without needing to ship me with it in a box with holes in the lid. It became clear however, that Max had absolutely no idea how to put a design plan on a piece of paper, so I muscled in on the project.  
  
Other than that the last two days had been completely uneventful. I was liking the time off this time though. I wasn't feeling so restless as I did back home. Here there were interesting things to take apart, write down and pick through, even though we were quickly starting to reach the end of Max's 'souvenirs' as he called it. It was better than going through a routine every single day.  
  
Talwyn poked her head into the room as I was about to take the pencil away again. "Hey guys. Still doing alright in here?"  
  
"Hey Tal," I turned to her instead with a smile. "Yeah no sweat."  
  
She walked over, taking a glance at the blueprint. Her father shot her a quick smile before focusing back on his notes.  
  
She gave a small laugh. "Are you actually letting dad write anything?"  
  
"He's writing right now, isn't he?" I said, waving a hand at him.  
  
"Keep that display still please," Max said with half his attention.  
  
"Uh huh," She cocked an eyebrow at me. "Is that why your handwriting is all over the page?"  
  
"Weeell..." I tossed the cube back and forth between my hands. "I may have, y'know, added a few footnotes here and there."  
  
"Kid, seriously, you're making me seasick."  
  
"Well, if you're done making footnotes do you mind if I steal him for a a while?" She asked me. "I need to make a supply run and I thought it'd be nice to take dad with me."  
  
"Aw love, can't it wait?" Max said, finally looking up from his writing. "We've almost got this thing done. Can't you take Zephyr or Kronk?"  
  
Talwyn tilted her head slightly at her father. "I thought maybe you'd like to get out of the station a little bit. Besides, I don't know what personal stuff you need to stock up on."  
  
Max made an frustrated noise but put the pencil down. "Alright alright. I guess putting it off's not gonna do me any good." He gave me a stern look as he rounded the desk to Talwyn. "You make one mark on that paper while I'm gone and I'll turn your robot into a can-opener."  
  
I gave a chuckle at this although I found it a little annoying for him to be making threats towards Clank when I still didn't know him that well. I knew not to take him seriously though, and pushed my issues aside.  
  
"Come on, Talwyn, let's go get those things so we can get back." He patted her on the head as he passed her to lead the way.  
  
I thought I saw something like disappointment on Tal's face but I wasn't really sure. For a moment though, just a moment, she looked kinda sad. In an instant it was gone and she followed her dad out the room, giving me a smile as she left. "Try not to disassemble anything important while I'm gone, ok?"  
  
"I make no promises," I said, dropping off the desk and putting the cube down, causing it to turn itself off.  
  
While the two of them were gone I took another piece of the blue grid paper and dragged it to the living room, spreading it on the coffee table. I started making another technical drawing, this one just for myself. Something in the designs we were copying had caused inspiration to strike and I wanted to get the idea down before I forgot it.  
  
"You're done for the day?" Clank asked as he came into the room a few minutes later.  
  
"Dunno," I said not bothering to look up. "Talwyn and Max went out to do stuff. I dunno when they're gonna get back."  
  
"What are you doing?" He came closer to peer at my work.  
  
I gave a dismissive shrug. "The usual."  
  
"They have upgraded that version of electrical feed devices you know," He said matter-of-factly.  
  
"I know, but the new upgrade's output isn't as strong and it takes longer to charge. I don't care how much safer its suppose to be."  
  
Clank shook his head before getting up on the couch as well and turning on the TV.  
  
"What've you been up to?" I asked, still focusing on my work.  
  
"I have been going through Mr. Apogee's collection," He said simply.  
  
"Still trying to find some Zoni stuff you can steal?" I snickered.  
  
"Very funny," He shot me a look. "But I admit you are partially correct. Although it seems none of the things he has brought with him are of direct zoni origin."  
  
"C'mon Clank," I sat up, cracking my spine back into place. "Give the guy a break, huh? It's his job to find old things in temples and ruins and sell it to a museum."  
  
Clank crossed his arms. "I still do not like it. They are not objects for him to take, regardless of how old they may be or how long it has been since someone has used them."  
  
"But only because it's got to do with the zoni, right?" I shot him a smirk. "Everything else is fine, I'm guessing."  
  
He shifted slightly. "It probably isn't, but other artifacts are none of my business. The zoni are my friends, so... alright yes, I suppose I am being biased but it is a personal matter."  
  
"But the lombax stuff doesn't bother you at all," I sharpened the pencil.  
  
"You are not bothered by it," He said simply. "So I do not see why I should be."  
  
I shrugged. "Fair enough."  
  
"You seem to have a made a friend," he changed the subject.  
  
I chuckled, leaning down to work on my design again. "I guess so. Guess I was freaking out over nothing, huh?"  
  
"Indeed," He nodded. "You have been spending a lot of time with Mr. Apogee the past two days. More than you have with Talwyn, which I find a surprise."  
  
I shrugged again. "He kinda got me sucked in to all these gizmos he's got. The guy's serious about collecting antiques, I'll give him that."  
  
Clank nodded again. "So I have noticed. He seems to spend most of his time on them."  
  
"Yeah well, it's his job, like I said." I wrote down a few numbers. "The fact that he enjoys it is a bonus."  
  
"I find it strange though," Clank said, tapping a bolt on his elbow with a finger as he thought.  
  
"Guy's not allowed to enjoy his work?" I gave him a sideways look.  
  
He shook his head. "No, I mean I find it strange that he would be so absorbed in work when he has been isolated for such a long time. I would have thought he would be more eager to spend that time with people he is close to."  
  
I said nothing for a moment, Talwyn's expression from earlier coming back to me. "He's probably just into it right now 'cause we're around and he gets to show it off."  
  
" _You_ are around," Clank pointed out. "He certainly seems to have taken a liking to you."  
  
I found myself pressing down a little harder as I wrote. "Yeah so? He's a cool guy. We get along."  
  
"That I can see," He went on. "And he certainly seems grateful for your contribution to his work, that is obvious."  
  
"Are you trying to say something, Clank?" I asked, putting the pencil down to make proper eye-contact.  
  
He gave something like a shrug. "As I said. I just find it strange. I would expect him to spend more time with his own daughter."  
  
I made an irritable noise, picking up my pencil again but said nothing. Somewhere inside me, that really annoying little voice I had was letting me know that Clank was, as usual, right.  
  
Clank uncrossed his arms, staring at me quietly. I wasn't sure if he was waiting for me to respond to him or not but I didn't feel like giving him the satisfaction.  
  
"Anything good on TV?" I asked instead.  
  
He turned to stare at the screen for a moment before he pulled the remote closer and changed the channel.  


* * *

  
  
The rest of the day wore on calmly. Talwyn and Max came home eventually. Max was laughing his usual booming laugh at something Tal had said as they entered the living room. I was glad to see this, hoping it meant Clank wasn't as right as I secretly knew he was. Evening came and we found ourselves settling down rather than going back to the probably forgotten blueprint in Max's temporary workstation Kronk and Zephyr had set up.  
  
I woke up in the night, although I wasn't sure what'd caused it. After a moment of thinking it over I decided I was thirsty. After a moment longer I sighed and willed myself to get up. I stumbled across the room as I refused to fully wake up and left, making my way to the kitchen.  
  
After getting a glass of something and downing it I made my way back to bed. On my way there, I noticed a light coming from Max's workroom. Thinking we might've left it on by mistake I made my way over to it with a grumble. I walked in, planning to just turn off the light before leaving. I stopped when I saw Max was inside, bent over something and scribbling furiously. I rubbed an eye in confusion before I sighed and walked into the room properly.  
  
"Isn't it kinda late for that?" I yawned.  
  
Max gave a slight start, turning to see who'd walked in on him. He relaxed when he saw me. "You'll give me a heart attack, boy," He gave a slight chuckle, closing a large leather-bound book he'd been writing in. "I thought you were Talwyn."  
  
"What're you doing in here in the middle of the night?" I asked, leaning against a wall.  
  
"I wanted to take down some notes while the information is fresh in my mind," He explained, opening the book again and going back to writing. I could see over his shoulder some crude drawings of some of the older artifacts he'd brought back with him.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, when an idea strikes you write it down, I do that too, but I usually keep something next to the bed to write cliff notes in. It makes it easier to get some sleep."  
  
"I'd sleep better if I knew I had my work written down properly," He said. "It stops the chances of me forgetting anything, or not being able to read my handwriting in the morning." He was writing as he spoke.  
  
I stood silently for a while before I spoke up again.  
  
"You really take this stuff seriously, huh?" I stretched, meaning my words to be a last goodnight before going back to bed. "Guess that's why they call you one of the best."  
  
His writing hand stopped at this and he lifted his head, frowning to himself slightly.  
  
"My work is very important to me." It wasn't really what he said but the way he said it that stopped me from leaving.  
  
"Yeah, I get that," I said with an amused noise.  
  
He shook his head and turned to frown at me instead. "No. I don't think you do."  
  
I blinked, surprised by the blunt response. Before I could say anything in reply he turned back to his book and continued to write. I stared at the back of his head for a few minutes before I turned to leave again.  
  
"A lot of my life's gone into what I do, Ratchet," He stopped me. "For a very long time it's all I had."  
  
I turned back. "Yeah but... not any more right?"  
  
He gave a very long drawn out breath at this, thinking for a moment. "Yes... but old habits die hard, and there's still a lot to discover."  
  
I felt that was suppose to be a cue for me to say something meaningful and smart but my tired brain failed me, instead focusing my attention back on my waiting bed.  
  
"Lemme know if you need me," I said as I left.  
  
"I will," He said, not watching me go.


	7. New Discoveries

The next morning we went back to finishing the blueprint. Once or twice I tried bringing up last night's conversation if only to figure out what the hell it was all about, but every time I thought I was going to be able to steer the conversation in that direction Max would change the subject. Eventually I gave up and just focused on getting the work down. It took most of the day but eventually it was done. Max went to call the Institute of Research and hear how they wanted the plans sent to them. He figured he'd send the broken Praetorian omni-wrench as well. He said something about the two making a nice display together in a museum somewhere.  
  
For the first time I wasn't so sure how I felt about one of these things being in a place as stuffy and boring as a museum. I still had Alister's wrench hanging on a wall at home. Thinking of the same thing being kept in a display case made me feel weird. I tried to forget about it and wandered off to find the ship Talwyn promised I could take apart instead, leaving the explorer to his work.  
  
I made my way to the elevator and took it down to the docking bay. Clank was somewhere on the higher levels doing whatever it was he did when he was by himself. Talwyn had received a call from one of the Polaris government's officials and hadn't come out of her room yet. From what I could tell it, had something to do with her dad and his research but I tried not to eavesdrop on her business.  
  
I searched the dock for something I could dig my wrench into. Apart from Aphelion, there was also Talwyn's personal ship, as well as one I recognised from seeing Kronk and Zephyr use once. Otherwise, there were two other starships, one of which looked half-gutted already. I decided to leave that one alone and focused on the one that was, at the moment, intact.  
  
It seemed like a simple ship, probably Markazian by the looks of the design. I could tell it was still in factory condition and that just wasn't gonna cut it. I'd be damned if I saw any ship so insulted that it was left the way they churned them out of a factory. I tightened my gloves, pulled out my wrench, and descended upon it.  
  
It was definitely second hand which annoyed me a little bit. I dunno who owned it before but they obviously didn't know much about ships if they were happy using it as-is when they bought it. By the looks of its engine it hadn't been used for too many long flights though and its warp-drive looked completely untouched, meaning it'd probably never left Polaris. I worked my way from the top downwards, lining pieces up on the floor beside me as I went, trying to find where to start first in getting it in some kind of acceptable condition.  
  
I'd rebuilt and replaced about half of its engine before the elevator came down and Clank wandered over to me.  
  
"There you are," He said as he came closer, his heels clicking on the steel floor.  
  
"Hey pal," I greeted, half an energy dispenser in my hands.  
  
"I thought you were still helping Mr. Apogee with his work," he said conversationally as he climbed up onto the ship to see inside the hood.  
  
"Yeah I was, but we finished." I fitted the dispenser into place, pulling my wrench closer and securing it.  
  
He was silent for a moment as he watched me work before speaking up again. "Does Talwyn know you are taking apart her ships?"  
  
I gave a slight laugh. "She said she had one I could play with, right? Far as I could tell this was the only one that looked like it wasn't being used that much."  
  
"So you didn't ask her."  
  
"What's the better plan here, Clank?" I waved my wrench in the air lazily as I gave him a pointed look. "Asking and hearing 'no' or just doing it and then have her not care because the ship'll be better than it was anyway?"  
  
"As always, your logic is staggering," He gave me a blank look.  
  
"Oh-ho! Sarcasm!" I laughed, picking up another engine part. "That's new coming from you."  
  
"Do not patronise me." He said, giving me a dirty look.  
  
"Me? Never," I said with sincerity.  
  
He shook his head at me. "Well, I know nothing about this. Just remember that when she comes asking about it." He watched me a little longer before adding. "Where's your checklist?"  
  
I handed it over to him and he sat down to check me as I kept working.  
  
Evening came and went. Clank and I were planning on getting ourselves packed and heading home the next day. With nothing more I could help with and now knowing how the residents of the station were doing, there wasn't that much point in staying longer. I mean, we could stick around if Talwyn wanted some company, but I felt Clank was right and she should get some time alone with her dad. We'd already stayed longer than we'd planned anyway.  
  
"So what did Qwark's people want?" I asked her before I went to bed.  
  
She gave a huff and shrugged. "Just political stuff. Who has the right to the temple finds, what legal proceedings there needs to be to stop things blowing up in their faces. Stuff like that. It was profoundly boring."  
  
"And bless you for doing it, love," Max flashed her a smile which she returned warmly.  
  
Morning came and after packing the few things we'd brought with us, I went back to the dock to give Aphelion a once over before the trip. I made sure she was full on fuel and that her shields were at full power in case we ran into trouble.  
  
"Ready to get back home?" I asked her as I looked over the dashboard controls, checking the readout of her warp-drive.  
  
 _"I think so, yes,"_ She answered. _"Although the down time was a welcomed change."_  
  
I nodded with a smile as I got out, closing the cockpit behind me. "Better than crash landings, that's for sure."  
  
Satisfied she was ready for the trip I took the elevator back up to the Atrium. Clank came trotting down the stone path towards me as I walked back to the domed entrance.  
  
"Something wrong?" I asked when he got close enough.  
  
"I think you better come and look at this," He said, turning to lead me back.  
  
I frowned, speeding up to walk with him. "What's up?"  
  
"Just come and look," He said with a dejected tone.  
  
I relaxed a little bit at the vague response. If it was serious Clank would've just given me a straight answer. We walked back through the domed entrance where the crates were still being kept due to the fact that there was no better place for them. Max was there, speaking to someone I didn't know but didn't need to to recognise. The light-blue jump-suit, cap with a logo on it and the vacant expression all were the marks of that breed of people, 'the delivery man'. Max was signing something on an electronic clipboard before handing it back to the guy. He took it and looked it over without much interest before giving a nod.  
  
"Have a good day, sir," he said in a voice that cracked comically before turning and walking past us to the Atrium to take a shuttle back to the asteroid belt. Not being a friend of the station he hadn't been allowed to use the docking bay.  
  
"What's that about?" I asked to either Max or Clank, whoever decided to answer first.  
  
"Oh there you are!" Max grinned when he saw me. "I've been wondering where you'd gone!" He walked over to a crate that was still closed and patted it. "Just arrived! I was going to come look for you to let you know!"  
  
"Let me know what?" I walked over, inspecting the new crate. "What's arrived?"  
  
Max's grin widened at me. "Well, since we ran out of gizmos for you to paw I sent word to the Society that I've got you here to unlock things. Things which they've been trying to crack open for decades! It took a bit of negotiating but I got them to send over a few items that we might get to open up! And record anything we find, of course."  
  
I blinked, first at him then at the crate. "You got more stuff?"  
  
"Artifacts, dear boy!" He laughed loudly. "If you want to be associated with these things you're gonna have to learn the terminology or people won't take you seriously!"  
  
I didn't know what to say. I turned back to stare at him, dumbfounded. He was still smiling at me widely, a spark in his eyes as he stared back. He looked eager and excited but somewhere underneath all of that I wondered if he didn't seem desperate. I turned back to the crate with something between a sigh and a grunt as I rubbed an arm thoughtfully.  
  
"Is something wrong?" Max said. The smile faltered just by a fraction, his eyes boring into me.  
  
I shook my head almost automatically at this. "No, nothing's wrong." I dropped my shoulders in defeat. "What've you got?"  
  
The smile perked again as he turned to the crate, picking up a nearby crowbar we'd used on the others earlier.  
  
"Wait till you see what the society's been keeping in their vaults! You thought I had good stuff? Wait till you see this!"  
  
"Ratchet," I felt a firm hand grip mine and give it a stern tug. "May I speak to you in private for a moment?"  
  
Uh oh.  
  
"Yeah." I turned to look at Max over my shoulder as Clank almost physically pulled me into the atrium. "You start unpacking whatever it is. I'll be back in a minute."  
  
"Don't be gone too long!" Max called eagerly.  
  
Once we were out of earshot Clank let me go and turned to face me, his hands fixed firmly to his hips. "May I ask what you think you are doing?"  
  
"What?" I protested, shrugging at him.  
  
"You know very well what," He frowned at me. "Were we not getting ready to go back home today? Did you not tell the two of them we were leaving?"  
  
"Of course I told them!" I frowned back. "I guess Max just... kinda forgot." I shrugged again. "Look this stuff means a lot to him. He was probably so excited about this that he forgot we're meant to go."  
  
"You are making excuses for him," Clank said pointedly.  
  
"I'm just saying what I think happened," I argued. "Besides, would it really hurt if we stayed a day or two more? It's not like we've got some kind of appointment we need to get to."  
  
Clank crossed his arms, thinking it over. I bent down so I could be at eye level with him. "Come on, pal. It means a lot to the guy. Weren't you the one who wanted us to come here in the first place? You said we might find something useful, right? What if it's in that box over there?"  
  
He uncrossed his arms and made the motions of a sigh. "I do not mind staying a little longer-"  
  
"Thanks," I smiled.  
  
"-however, I still find it a little inconsiderate of him to do something like this."  
  
"Guy's been stuck in a jungle for 10 years," I lowered my voice slightly. "That's a long time to try and remember that other people have lives too when you've been living all alone."  
  
Again he said nothing to this, he just shook his head and started walking back to the domed entrance. I got up and followed him.  
  
"Everything ok?" Max asked, the smile this time looked a little shaky, as if he was afraid of the answer.  
  
"Yeah, no problem," I nodded. "We just had to decide when the two of us have to get back home."  
  
Max gave a nod at this, turning back to the new crate and digging around inside it. "Ah yes, of course, of course."  
  
"Because... we were kinda thinking of going today but-"  
  
Before I could finish my sentence he turned back to me and dropped something in my hands. It was a large, brass coloured sphere of some kind. It had gears and cogs engraved on it and it was heavy. I had to put it down almost as soon as he handed it to me.  
  
"What the heck is this thing?" I asked, my train of thought interrupted.  
  
"We're hoping you can tell us!" Max laughed. Behind him I was partially aware of Clank walking over to one of the older crates and jumping on top of it before sitting down to watch us.  
  
I frowned at the large sphere that now sat in front of me. It was the size of a globe but was made of some kind of metal. I didn't think it was solid or I wouldn't have been able to hold it at all, but it was clear it had something inside it.  
  
"A safe, maybe?" I put my hands on it. It didn't react and I started feeling around it, looking for a button or something I could put my fingers on.  
  
"They did some x-rays on the thing and whatever it is, it's got machine parts inside it," Max said as he sat down in front of me and the sphere.  
  
I ran my hands over it, tracing the embossed shapes and smooth surfaces but nothing seemed to happen. After a few minutes I gave a sigh. "I think this one's a dud, Max."  
  
He sighed as well but with a lot more disappointment than I did. "Well, they're not all gonna be winners, right?" He turned to scratch in the crate again.  
  
"Have you tried it without your gloves, Ratchet?" Clank spoke up from his spectator's seat.  
  
"That's not a bad idea, actually," I said, pulling them off and putting them beside me. I ran my hands over the sphere again and this time when I put my fingers to an indentation the sphere rolled itself open into a bowl.  
  
Mechanical gears and parts seemed to uncurl themselves from its inside as the whole thing transformed. Once its insides were on the outside, the bowl turned itself into a sphere again and we ended up with something completely different than when we started.  
  
"What in the world is it suppose to be?" Max asked, staring at it in confusion.  
  
I leaned forward and pulled it closer by the long steel bar that was now coming out of it. After a short inspection I couldn't stop myself from laughing.  
  
"Well? Don't keep me in suspense what is it?!" Max urged.  
  
"It's a unicycle," I laughed, standing up so I could get it the right way up.  
  
Max pulled a face almost like disgust. "A what? A.. But why?! Why lock something like that?! It's worthless!"  
  
"Hey hey now," I chuckled. "Somebody obviously cared about it if they wanted to lock it." I rolled it back and forth with a hand for a moment. "I always wondered if I'd be any good with one of these."  
  
Max seemed far less amused than I was though and got up, going back to the crate as he muttered under his breath. From the sound of giggling from the other side of the room it seemed I wasn't the only one entertained by the weird find.  
  
"Come on, Max," I smiled at his back. "Sure it's no secret plans or anything but its still interesting, right?"  
  
He sighed as he turned back to me. "I suppose. Just a little underwhelming. This on the other hand, is gonna be interesting no matter what," He held out his hand to me again. "We know what it is, we just can't turn it on."  
  
I opened my hands and he dropped a small circular object the size of an apple in them. Although I didn't know the design I knew what it was. In Solana people still mostly used infobots for relaying messages and making recordings but now and then you'd find a species who used similar but more compact devices for such things. They seemed a lot more common in Polaris than Solana. I probably just found out why.  
  
It sat in my hands for only a moment before something like a cap opened up and a holo-screen shot out of the thing and opened up in front of me. My brain was still trying to process exactly what it was that I was holding, so for a moment it didn't register what I was looking at. My brain then told me I was looking in a mirror but I quickly rejected this, knowing it wasn't true.  
  
I watched as a face like my own took in a breath and started talking to me.  
  
 _"The decision has been made that the council of elders and the Praetorian order will co-operate with this inventor's request of our military designs after General Azimuth gave his vote of consent. Plans are being made as to which documents we will provide him with and in what manner he intends to use them. The motion was put forward that his work be closely monitored during this coalition."_ The speaker made a loud aggravated noise and got up. There were details of the room he was in but my brain refused to focus on any of it, my eyes fixed on the speaker as he started to pace.  
  
 _"I have no idea what the general is thinking! We've survived through all that we have because our's is a species who know how to keep secrets! And now he wants to open the doors to whoever waltzes in with promises of more advanced technology?! When have we ever needed any-one else's technology but our own?! Let alone from such a dubious source!"_  
  
Somewhere behind me I heard metal on metal as Clank got down from the crate and walked to stand beside me. The speaker sat back down in his chair, running hands over the white furred face in irritation before speaking again.  
  
 _"In my opinion its a poor decision on the council's part. But the vote has been cast and there's little I can do about it now. My only prayer is that my fears are nothing but paranoia and the ramblings of a man who has seen too much war in his life. Only time will tell."_ He turned to face me again head on. _"I will be recording an update on this matter in a few days. Note to self; remember to employ a lock on recording device. My gut tells me I need to start being a little more careful with my thoughts on the matter. Skyler Corona signing out."_  
  
The screen went blank.  
  
I stared at the spot where it had been in silence. Only for a moment though, before a large heavy hand gave me a rather painful slap on the back accompanied with a booming laugh.  
  
"Now that is more like it!" Max beamed at me, he was practically glowing. "Good lord, we knew an infosphere would mean something good but this is unheard of! A perfect undamaged recording from one of the higher-ups before Tachyon's invasion? It's unheard of! If it hadn't been for the lock I'd have sworn it was a hoax!" Another hard back-slap and a laugh. "Wait until I tell those stiff-necked pencil pushers at the society that we managed in two minutes what they've been struggling to do for almost 30 years! Oh man, I need to set the screen to record when I tell them! I wanna keep the looks on their faces for prosperity's sake!"  
  
I gave him a weak smile, shifting a little away from him in case he decided to congratulate me on the back again.  
  
"This calls for a toast!" He took the circular object out of my hands before turning to a crate he was using as a table and writing some notes in the large leather-bound book I'd seen earlier. "Go tell Talwyn to get us some glasses! You go into my workroom and look in the bottom drawer. There's a large bottle of rum I swiped off Captain Slag. I've been saving it for something special. And to think we haven't even started on this crate yet!" He waved a hand at me as he continued to write. "Go on, go on!"  
  
I nodded and hurried up the stairs to the main living area. Clank following close behind. He started to say something but got interrupted when we ran into Talwyn on our way.  
  
"What's all the yelling about?" She asked me. She looked unsure if she should be concerned or not.  
  
I chuckled. "Your dad made me open up an infosphere that had some or other recording on it. Turns out it's kind of a big deal. He said to get some glasses so he could toast it."  
  
"Taosting it huh?" She broke into a warm smile. "That _is_ a big deal! I'll be there in a moment, he's in the entranceway, right?"  
  
"As always," I said as I continued to the workroom.  
  
I opened the door and walked inside, going over to the desk and opening the bottom drawer. There was a stack of papers on top of what could only be a bottle. I started pulling them out to get to the rum.  
  
"Ratchet."  
  
I piled them next to me carefully, making sure not to get them out of order as I fished out the bottle before putting them back.  
  
"Ratchet."  
  
I looked up, closing the drawer as I did so.  
  
Clank was staring at me. Hard.  
  
"... Are you alright?"  
  
I stared at the bottle in my hands, trying to think of an answer. Was I alright? I didn't know. I felt unnerved more than anything else. The only lombax face I'd seen after learning I was all alone was Alister's, and he was dead. Seeing another, if only in a recording, felt weird. I had my pocket watch sure but it was different. This had been a moving, speaking face. It wasn't just some faded photo in an old watch.  
  
"Ratchet?"  
  
I realised I hadn't answered him yet and looked up again. I gave a nod, if only because I knew it was what he wanted to see. "Yeah I'm good." I pushed myself up, moving to leave.  
  
"That was unfair of him," Clank's words stopped me and I turned to look at him again, confused.  
  
"He did not even ask if you wanted to see what was recorded on that thing," a slight frown was creeping on his face. "And he did not seem to care what you thought after he saw what it was."  
  
"It's fine, Clank," I said with conviction.  
  
The bolts that worked like shoulders dropped and the frown disappeared. "Is it?"  
  
I took in a long breath, sighing as I turned the bottle over in my hands, swishing the liquid inside. "It was just a shock, that's all."  
  
There was a pause between us but I didn't make a move to leave the room. I was sure there was more to be said although I couldn't think of what it was.  
  
"Do you want to do this?" Clank eventually asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you want to keep helping him with these things?" He took a step or two closer to me. "And I do not want to hear whether you think he needs your help or not, I want to know if you want to give it to him."  
  
I was silent again, thinking about the question seriously. When we went through the items in his crates before, I didn't feel anything for the stuff inside it. To me it was nothing but junk. Throw away antiques that had no value except for guys who liked writing books about those kinds of things. The omni-wrench plans had been exciting but that's because they were something mechanical, and when I got them to open I felt like I'd actually contributed something. But this... this was different.  
  
It was more than weird seeing some-one who looked a lot like me who wasn't Alister or a mirror. I still wasn't sure what I was feeling at seeing that so abruptly yet. Deep inside of me I felt like I didn't really want to find anything else that touched a nerve that raw again, but at the same time I wanted to tip that entire crate over and go through absolutely everything that fell out of it. I wanted to comb through every last piece of gadgetry until I knew exactly what was waiting for me to find. I wanted it all out in the open so that there'd be nothing for me to wonder about later.  
  
Eventually I found myself back in the present. Clank hadn't said anything else, waiting for an answer patiently.  
  
"...Yeah," Was all I said.  
  
"Are you sure?" He walked over to stand next to me.  
  
I shook my head, turning to exit the room. "No, I'm not sure. But right now... I just want to dive in and do it."  
  
"You can tell him 'no' if you want to, Ratchet," He said, following after me.  
  
"I know," I nodded. "But I wanna know-" I shook my head again quickly. "I gotta know what else is in that box."  
  
"If you are sure," He said, giving in.  
  
"I'm not," I walked back to the entrance dome, "but I'm gonna do it anyway."  
  
Max and I toasted the... infosphere I guess. Talwyn joined us which I was grateful for. Having her there helped divert some of Max's attention off me. I was worried if we talked too long he'd notice I wasn't really as enthusiastic as him about the supposed breakthrough. We only had about one glass each. In Max's case it was because he wanted to go back to going through the new crate. In my case it was because whatever kind of rum he'd stolen from Captain Slag tried to burn holes in my throat all the way down into my gut. Luckily I'd taken a drink from my glass first, sparing Talwyn a similar fate when I pretty much coughed my lungs up.  
  
After we were done Max immediately went back to work. I let myself get pulled back into the endeavour. I asked Tal if she wanted to join us but she declined. She said she had things to do and still needed to talk to Qwark's people about the legalities behind everything. I thought about offering to wait until she was done to go through the crate but I knew Max wouldn't be able to contain himself until then. I gave her an apologetic smile and told her she should join us when she was done. Time wore on, however, and she was still wrapped up in talking to the politicians. The two of us with Clank as an audience went on with the task at hand.  
  
I was nervous about what else was waiting to be found. Max was quick to pick out objects that looked similar to the data storage we discovered that started all this. There were about four of them. Of these one didn't work at all and another's data was corrupted, but the last two were still usable. The first of these was actually a map. Nothing as interesting or dramatic as a treasure map but instead a map of what I could identify as a city. Max told me that is was a map of a Lombax Colony somewhere in the Antares system. The map not only showed the city itself but was also marked with hidden bunkers, hidden caches of what I don't know and other things that would give it cause to be locked. Max said it was from the early days of the Great War, making me wonder if the other lombaxes did anything before the war started.  
  
The second one was the first thing we found I got excited about. It was another blueprint, this time of a ship. Its design was slightly different than Aphelion's but I made it my personal mission right then and there to copy it down later and use it to maybe give her an upgrade if possible. It was a simple find but it fueled me and gave me some of my energy back to see what else there was without dreading it as much.  
  
We went over various things after that. Some of them reacted to my touch while others didn't, either because they weren't suppose to or because they were too badly damaged by time and exposure. Most if not all the things we went through were all practical in nature. There were no locked family albums or music boxes or the things of the like. I was secretly grateful for this. I wasn't sure I really wanted to find something too personal. Max was pleased too but for different reasons. Practical things meant they could be studied and displayed. Personal items were apparently not seen as being very valuable as far as lombax research went.  
  
The last of the afternoon went by and I managed to lighten up, getting lost in the task and enjoying Max's company, as draining as it could be at times. His enthusiasm and obvious passion for the work was contagious. Besides, as painful as they were sometimes I liked the praise he gave me. People tended to shoot at me more than they told me I was doing a good job. It was a nice change.  
  
After a while Talwyn finally came downstairs. She was scowling and I could almost physically feel her fume when she got close.  
  
"Guess who I had to talk to today!" She snapped at us as she leaned herself against a crate and folded her arms tightly.  
  
"Qwark," me and Clank both answered. Only one person could trigger that much annoyance in a someone.  
  
She gave an annoyed growl and shook her head. "Why hasn't someone realised he barely has the brains to eat, let alone run an entire galaxy?! Ok I get he's not exactly running the galaxy by himself but do you have any idea what it's like trying to hold a conversation with him about what should be done with this temple?! You try asking him about the conservation rights versus rights to claim and see how much fun it is!"  
  
I laughed at her. "Geez Tal, calm down!"  
  
"Don't tell me to be calm!" She snapped but instantly looked like she regretted it. "Sorry. It's just... uggggh! That man!"  
  
"Sorry, Talwyn," I said with a more sympathetic look. "D'you wanna hang out with us and rant about it for a while?"  
  
She gave a forlorn sigh and shook her head again, but this time to say 'no'. "I think I'm just gonna take a bath, grab something sweet and bad for me from the fridge and call it a night. I'm on the verge of a migraine and I really don't feel like watching you three geek out over ancient yo-yos or whatever. No offence, dad."  
  
He laughed at her. "None taken, love."  
  
She managed a smile at him and pushed herself off the crate again. "Anyone know where Kronk and Zephyr are?"  
  
"They said something about receiving a transmission on your asteroid border and went to go investigate," Clank said. "It sounded like a Terachnoid had become lost and had run out of fuel."  
  
"They're not the best pilots," I smirked.  
  
"Right. When they get back tell them to keep themselves busy with something and not to bug me till tomorrow morning," She said as went back upstairs. She stopped half-way to give all three of us a stern glare. "And I don't want to hear how you guys got stuck in something and stayed up until 4 in the morning, ok? That goes double for you!"  
  
"Me?!" I frowned back up at her. "Why me specifically?!"  
  
"Because you do it all the time. Don't think I don't know," She gave me a sideways smirk before climbing the rest of the stairs and disappearing from sight.  
  
"She has you pegged, boy," Max snickered at me.  
  
"Yeah, like you're completely innocent," I grinned back.  
  
Evening became night and we kept up our steady pace of sorting through what was turning out to be a very large shipment. We'd slowed down our pace a lot since that first night we found the wrench blueprint and took more time going through each individual item, inspecting it, seeing what happened if I played around with it for a moment and then letting Max take down detailed notes of whatever did or didn't happen.  
  
It was just crossing the line between being a decent time and late that Clank stretched himself before hopping down off the crate he'd been sitting on all day and gave us a goodnight before leaving. A short while later I was planning to start making my way up to bed as well. After the newest artifact opened itself up for me (a storage compartment for some half-finished invention of some kind) I handed it to Max to make his notes.  
  
"I think I'm gonna turn in," I said as he took it and put it down beside his book. "Talwyn might've been joking but I don't want to really wait and see how angry she'll be if we stay up all night."  
  
Max laughed and gave a nod. "A wise decision, if you ask me."  
  
"You'd better take my example," I said, turning to walk up the stairs. "She'd be mad at me but I don't even wanna think about what she'd do to you."  
  
He chuckled again. "You don't need to worry about me, kid. For once I think I'm gonna hit the sack early tonight. After all, I think we did more work today than any other researcher has in the past five years."  
  
"No kidding," I pulled a face, turning to leave.  
  
"Speaking of which, I wanted to thank you," Max went on.  
  
I turned back to face him and shrugged as I crossed my arms. "No sweat. It's kinda fun going through this stuff." I found myself smiling at the crate we'd been working through. "It's the most lombax made stuff I've ever seen in my life, that's for sure."  
  
"Yeah... er..." Max looked uncertain, rubbing the back of his neck as if wrestling with something. "But I wanted to thank you anyway. I'm sure it's not easy."  
  
My smile faded at this as I regarded him silently. He looked uncomfortable but gave a sigh and went on.  
  
"I mean, walking down here and looking all this straight in the face." He gave me a half-hearted smile which quickly faded. "Talwyn told me a little bit about you, you know. Nothing private or anything, but she got me to kinda get a better picture of erm... your... situation."  
  
I frowned softly at him but still kept quiet. I wanted to see what point he was trying to make before I answered. He obviously didn't like this and shifted self consciously in place.  
  
"It's just... This stuff's important to me," He said eventually.  
  
I gave a nod. "Yeah you told me."  
  
He gave his head a shake. "No, no I didn't really." He gave a sigh and turned to look behind him before sitting down on the nearest crate, folding his hands together in his lap. I stared at him for a moment before I uncrossed my arms and walked back again, leaning against the crate we were working on as I waited to hear him out.  
  
"Have you ever been marooned on a planet, Ratchet?" He asked, a serious expression on his face.  
  
"Unless roughly the first sixteen or so years of my life count no, not really," I answered. I knew it wasn't the same thing at all but I felt my guard being raised.  
  
He gave a hollow chuckle at this. "No offence, but I don't think it's the same." He turned to gaze off to the side for a moment. I waited, watching him gather his thoughts and wondering what he was trying to say.  
  
"When you're all by yourself..." He started. "And I mean... completely by yourself, with not even strangers or people you don't know to talk to, you start going down some pretty bad roads. Mentally I mean."  
  
I shifted uncomfortably, not sure I wanted to hear this.  
  
"There was a time where I would wonder if there was any point to keep going. Ten years, Kid. Ten. Damn. Years. That's a very long time to be stuck anywhere. With no-one to talk to, or listen to or even look at. You start wondering if there is any real purpose to anything at all. Stuck on some god-forbidden planet in a hot sweltering jungle with no company except every bug known to science, blood thirsty predators and the occasional monsoon. It's a wonder I didn't start talking to trees and crown myself prince of the dandruff fairies."  
  
His dark eyes fell on me again and once again I felt like they were drilling holes right through me. "Do you know what I did? To stop myself from going completely mind-bendingly insane? I gave myself something to focus on. I had no delusions about being rescued or escaping that tropical hell, but I knew that someday, there would be some-one who'd come across my camp. If simply going by the rule of averages. I wanted people to know that Max Apogee, one of the greatest explorers ever seen by the galaxy did not waste away in some rainforest slowly going insane."  
  
He sat up a little straighter. "So I threw myself into my work. Captain Slag and his bunch of cut-throats had dropped me right on top of some Zoni ruin. It was their idea of a joke or irony or who knows what. It turned out to be my salvation. It became my rock as every day of my lonely life I'd throw myself at it, digging deeper into its secrets. Hellbent on discovering why it was there, why it was built and why it was so very different to all the other temples I'd ever seen. At first it was just a way to keep myself distracted from my situation as I stupidly waited for some kind of rescue. As months became years though, it soon became my sole reason for waking up in the morning."  
  
He paused for a moment, his face looked hard and lined with the almost permanent smile gone. A battered and weathered face was suddenly staring back at me and I felt like I was talking to a stranger all over again. Like there was no way this could be the same person I met almost a week ago.  
  
He ran a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes before letting his fingers stroke over the goatee before he took a deep breath and went on.  
  
"Resigning to the fact that, in my mind, there was no way I was ever going to leave that planet alive, I put my whole existence into my work. Do you... do you have any idea what it felt like when I saw that hulking mass of a spaceship coming out of the sky? I thought I'd cracked."  
  
He gave a single mirthless laugh. "What do you do when you've accepted your life and then the universe decides it's gonna make all your dreams come true? You know what you do?" His eyes dug into me again. "You reject it. Not consciously maybe but you reject the idea that this is how it's gonna be from now on. You just don't have the faith left to believe it. So you cling to the familiar and to what you know you can control. To what keeps you sane."  
  
He turned to the item he'd been taking notes on last in his book and picked it up, turning it in his fingers as he looked it over with a lack of interest. "Because you're not ready to face what's suddenly become your reality."  
  
He put the mathematical tool down and turned to me again. "And I wanted to thank you for indulging me in all this, even if it's a little uncomfortable for you."  
  
'Uncomfortable' was a vast understatement but I said nothing, holding the aged explorer in my gaze. When the pause dragged out and I realised he had nothing more to say I took in a breath, trying to think of some kind of reply I could give.  
  
"Maybe it's not the same thing..." I started, choosing my words carefully. "...but I think this stuff is important to me too. Only, I'm having a hard time accepting that." I gave a shrug at myself. "So uncomfortable or not it's something I gotta deal with, I think." I gave a frustrated sigh. "What I'm trying to say is, you don't need to feel guilty about it. There's more to it than just me trying to do you a favour."  
  
Max smiled again and his age was hidden once more. The smile wasn't the one I saw practically every day though. It had more maturity to it, and more understanding. "You're a real life-saver, my boy."  
  
I returned the smile, thanking him although for what I wasn't sure.  
  
I wasn't able to sleep that night, staring instead at the ceiling of the room as the conversation played itself over and over in my head. I wondered if I really was helping him out of some obligation, or if there really had formed some sort of personal investment in what we were doing.  
  
Eventually I told myself that it didn't matter since both had the same result at the end of the day and tried pushing it to the back of my mind. However once I did so the recording from the infosphere and the face of Skyler Corona came back to me and refused to go away.  
  
I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, but I wasn't able to sleep.


	8. Insomnia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little messy near the middle. The reason for this is because when I wrote it I realised the story was dragging a little by now and I needed to shift gears to get to the more important events. But I still needed certain events to take place :c I would've written this differently if I were writing it now. Oh well. Sorry about that guys. It picks up again in the next chapter.
> 
> I like the dialogue in this chapter though.

I felt like crap the next morning. I did eventually get some sleep but not much. When the station's lights started brightening to signal it was officially 'day' I'd only managed about three hours or so. I probably could've slept in but I didn't think it was gonna make a lot of difference so I got up.  
  
I stumbled my way to the kitchen and grabbed whatever looked edible and easy to choke down. I made some coffee for myself once I'd eaten. I didn't really drink it out of habit, but if I was sure of anything it was that I was gonna need it today. After I'd got myself a cup, I was stuck with the fact that no-one else was awake yet and probably wouldn't be for a while.  
  
I thought about working on the plans of an invention I'd started a few days earlier, but as soon as the thought came to me my head started to throb in protest of thinking too much on too little sleep. TV didn't sound like a lot of fun, and Talwyn wasn't into holo-games so that ruled out anything along those lines. I didn't trust myself with trying to work on a ship engine when I was this tired either which really used up most of my options for stuff I like to do. After downing the last of what turned out to be a rather bad tasting concoction, I wandered out of the kitchen and started pacing the station out of boredom.  
  
As much as I tried to resist it, Max's conversation came back to me again. However I'd run it over in my head so many times the memory was growing stale and my mind wandered away from it after a while. Seeing its cue, the images from the infophere took their place. I wondered who this Skyler person was and if I was wrong in thinking 'Skyler' sounded more like a girl's name. Thinking about the recording must've led me, because I found myself in the domed entranceway again. The place was starting to look like a tornado had hit a pawn shop with the way the large number of crates lay everywhere, items of all sizes half-unpacked and foam peanuts littering a lot of the floor. I was sure there was some method to the madness in how Max had sorted his collection, but to me it just looked like a giant fire-hazard.  
  
I walked over to some of the older crates that we'd already searched for anything that was locked. We'd gone through them so quickly a lot of the items in them had been skimmed over.  
  
Strange tools and broken weapons in a style I didn't recognise were lined against one of the walls. Next to them was a pile of books, some in better condition than others. Set aside was another group of things that must've been ancient. There were stone slabs with curled writing I couldn't read carved on to them, as well as polished statues of some kind of marbled stone, showing things like a biped alien enwrapped by a snake-like monster. In a much smaller pile I recognised the things Max had brought with him that were lombax made. The broken wrench and its plans were gone as well as some other items, but for the most part anything that didn't look like it was gonna provide any kind of interesting results had been put in the corner.  
  
The station still sounded silent and empty, so with nothing better to do I started to look over the objects from Fastoon and the other colonies again. There wasn't much to find. Most of the items were mechanical in nature, but without anything to see how they would fit together or what kind of part they were suppose to be, it was just a meaningless mess. There were also items that looked like rather bizarre everyday items but I was guessing they were things the other lombaxes had invented simply out of habit and a 'why hasn't anyone tried doing THIS before?' mindset. I caught myself smiling, seeing a lot of myself in that way of thinking.  
  
With the pile of stuff exhausted, I sat back for a minute, staring idly at the domed ceiling as I tried to decide what to keep myself busy with now. My eye caught the pile of mouldy looking books and after staring at it for a while, I crawled over and opened the nearest one up, paging through it.  
  
A lot of the pages had water-damage and one or two of them were stuck together, but it seemed to be a textbook of some kind although I didn't care enough to read what it was about. I went on to the next one which was in a language I didn't understand but had some nice illustrations in it.  
  
I killed about 10 minutes before I found a book that honestly caught my attention. I couldn't even guess how old it was suppose to be. The notes in it were hand-written which either meant it was pretty old or someone just preferred putting pen to paper instead of writing things down digitally. What caught my interest though, was a random page I'd opened up to. It had a rough drawing in it, probably made by whoever had written the book, of a structure I recognised. I had to think about it to try and figure out where I'd seen it before but eventually I realised it was the large cogs in the Courtyard of the lombax city on Fastoon. I'd only been there two or three times and I tried not to go back there too much if I could help it, but once I realised that's what it was there was no mistaking it.  
  
I turned to the front of the book to try and figure out what I was holding. In the first few pages there was something like an opening statement scrawled in pen.  
  
 _Coleander's Travel journal. 5302 – 5303  
  
Well, after a lot of saving up I've finally decided to go on that year long trip I've been threatening to do for who knows how long! My roommate says I'm insane, especially since there's still the war going on in most sectors of the galaxy but frankly, I don't have the time to sit around and wait for the Cragmites to get over themselves! If I don't do this now I probably won't get another chance, so I'm packing up my things and leaving tomorrow. I'll try and keep this diary up to date on what happens but only if I remember to do so, and if I don't forget it on a bus somewhere.  
  
First stop is planet Alent. I heard some good things about the seafood festival they hold there. Apparently they don't just hold them once a year so I'm sure I'll be able to- _  
  
I skipped ahead, not too interested in whoever wrote the journal's opinion of the different kinds of fish he got to eat. I skimmed a few entries until I finally got to the part that'd caught my attention in the first place.  
  
 _With the fighting being so heavy in this part of the galaxy, I'm having a harder time going to the planets I want to visit than I thought I would. I knew it might be tricky, but it's getting to the point where I can't even use public shuttles any more. Most of them have either been discontinued or they're controlled by the Cragmites. I've started to rely on hitching rides with strangers who have their own ships, and even that is turning out to be harder than I thought. Everyone here's so suspicious of everyone else. It's really astounding! In the Outer Rim we really didn't have any idea the war was so large and affected so many things as it does here!  
  
What's worse is that even if you do find someone to give you a ride who won't sell you as slave labour, or rob you blind, or simply just hand you over to the Cragmites as some kind of spy for a reward, you're still not safe! Anything the Cragmites feel is in the wrong place at the wrong time risks being completely vaporised without so much as a warning! It's a nightmare! I ran into a very bad situation when I caught a ride with a Cazarian independent reporter. He'd traveled to Polaris to do a personal interest piece on how the war was affecting certain species, but when he saw how bad things were he decided to stay and do an ongoing report on what was happening.  
  
As luck would have it, a Cragmite patrol ship recognised him and tried to shoot his ship down with me still on it! The only reason we didn't end up getting killed was because the Cazar managed to pull of a crash landing on the nearest planet.  
  
We were quickly approached by the planet's locals, a species I'd only heard about called the Lombax. They informed us that we'd crashed on the planet Fastoon. I hadn't planned on visiting it, but it seems I have no choice now._  
  
I flipped a few pages ahead to a later entry.  
  
 _The Lombax are somehow as friendly as they are secretive. I don't know if it's just another product of the war, but they seem to be very wary of any strangers on their planet. Still, they're not openly hostile and thank goodness for it! For creatures that look like they'd make a good line of soft toys they have some of the most devastating fire-power I have ever seen from any race! I'd hate to get on their bad side, that's for sure!_  
  
I found myself smiling again, reading onwards as the journal writer went on to describe things I already kinda knew. Things about how the residence of Fastoon loved speed almost as much as they did machines, how nothing could ever be left unmodified and how, despite their extremely advanced technology, they still liked things to look more mechanical rather than streamlined and holographic.  
  
He also talked a lot about things I didn't know, and I found myself actually re-reading some sentences three or four times just for the heck of it. There were descriptions of homes, how people lived, how they acted around each other, how families functioned... things I'd never even thought about before. He'd written about people he got to know as he stayed on the planet for quite a while, waiting to find someone who could take him off-world. He wrote about places he visited on a day to day basis, people he didn't like, how he got irritated by the fact that stores didn't carry certain items he was use to finding easily, how the heat would get to him while it seemed to be enjoyed by everyone else, what kind of games the kids he grew to know would play... I read everything, completely lost in the man's writing.  
  
"You're up early!" the voice was so loud in the silence I'd been sitting in that I jumped, causing Max to laugh at me. "Didn't mean to scare you, boy!"  
  
I gave a sheepish laugh and got up, the journal still gripped in a hand. "I woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep, so I've been going through the stuff you've got."  
  
"Find anything interesting?" He asked as he turned to duck back into the crate that had arrived yesterday.  
  
"Yeah," I said, flipping the book's pages in my hand absentmindedly. "I found this."  
  
He turned to look at what I was talking about before taking the journal from me and giving it a quick page through. "Oh yeah, I remember. I got this from a used bookstore, actually. I thought it was a journal of an explorer or someone like that, but it's just a diary of some tourist."  
  
"Yeah but there's a whole section where he spent like a month of Fastoon," I said, taking it back to flip to the part. "It's really interesting stuff!"  
  
"Does it say anything about how they were dealing with the Great War?" He asked, raising an eyebrow with interest.  
  
I nodded. "Yeah yeah! He has all these great descriptions on how people were coping and what they did when..."  
  
"No no," He interrupted. "I mean how they were dealing with the war actively? Like what kind of techniques or gadgets they were developing because of it?"  
  
"Oh... erm..." I flipped through the pages again. "No not really. It's mostly about the people he met and stuff like that."  
  
"Ah. I see," Max said without much enthusiasm, turning back to dig in the crate. "A pity. It could've given us some good insights on how the Lombaxes were behaving during that time. Oh well. It serves me right for not reading a book properly before buying it, huh?"  
  
"Ehm.. yeah." I closed the book again.  
  
"Well we've still got a lot of stuff to go through!" He said, pulling out something that looked like a safety deposit box. "Put the book down and let's get this started!" He grinned widely at me.  
  
I smiled with a nod and put the journal down where I found it before joining him. We spent the entire day going through everything we could find, some of it with success and some of it with nothing. Max wrote it all down, taking more detailed notes whenever I got something to open or change when I touched it. By the time it was evening my lack of sleep had caught up with me and I dragged myself to my room, not bothering with dinner. I was asleep before I even collapsed on the bed, the travel journal from earlier completely forgotten.  
  
I dunno how early it was but it felt like it'd only been five minutes before I was woken up by a knock on my door. The lights were on though so it had to officially be morning.  
  
When I opened the door Max's grin was waiting for me.  
  
"Morning! You ready to get back at it?" It asked eagerly.  
  
"Get back at what?" I rubbed at my face, trying to wake myself up. Behind me I heard the whirr of something mechanical as Clank unfolded himself from his boxed state and stretched.  
  
Max's laugh was too loud for how early it felt. "We're not done with that crate yet, you know! But if we start now we can probably get through it today! I thought we'd tackle the thing head-on and get it over and done with!"  
  
I thought about this as my brain finally decided to start working properly. "Really? Well yeah sure. Lemme just get cleaned up and get something to eat and I'll be right there."  
  
"Don't take too long!" He said, moving to walk back in the direction of the entranceway. I sighed and closed the door again, looking around to grab my clothes so I could hit the shower.  
  
"Not exactly the greatest wake up call," Clank grumbled, pushing himself up from the armchair he'd been using as a perch for the time we'd been there. I had no idea if the soft chair made any difference to him when he folded himself up to sleep, but I didn't ask.  
  
"We're almost done," I gave him a tired smile. "You can't really blame him for being excited."  
  
"I will blame him as much as I want," Clank went on, getting down off the chair and moving to leave the room.  
  
I laughed at him. "You're in a great mood today."  
  
"I do not enjoy being woken up without reason," He said as he opened the door and went in the direction of Kronk and Zephyr's quarters to get something I guess you could call 'food' for lack of a better word.  
  
After getting myself sorted out, I joined Max in the domed entrance. "Before we get started I wanna get that journal again," I said, making my way to the pile of books.  
  
"What Journal?" Max blinked at me.  
  
"The one you said you didn't mean to buy," I answered, going through the stack of textbooks and novels.  
  
"Oh, that journal," Max said with an immediate lack of interest.  
  
"Yeah," I frowned. "Hey, do you know where it is? I left it right here but I can't find it now."  
  
Max gave a shrug. "Maybe it got moved around when we were working yesterday. But come on, I wanna get this over with! You can look for it later."  
  
I gave the pile of books another frown but I couldn't see anything like the book I'd been paging through the day before. Deciding to worry about it later, I joined Max and we started the entire process all over again. I was kinda glad this was the homestretch. I was getting a little sick of this game of being handed things and then seeing what happened. It was fun trying to guess what kind of items and gadgets would appear from whatever Max put in my hands, but as more and more of it turned out to be either some kind of half-finished invention or a map, I was really starting to get bored. The journal I'd found had been ten times as interesting as anything we'd dug up before it, saving for Skyler's infosphere.  
  
Halfway through the day Talwyn came to check in on us but other than that, the entire day was taken up by going through the last of the crate. By the time we were finished, it was well into the night already. With the very last artifact done and recorded in Max's book (it was a small safe that contained some jewellery that still had price-tags on them) I was exhausted. I went back to the pile of books and looked through them for about a quarter of an hour for the missing journal but after I came up empty, I decided to get some sleep first and then come back.  
  
When I was once again woken up by a knock on the door I was really confused. Being half-asleep I was unsure if the knock was real or if I was dreaming it. When the knock came a second time, I went to go see who it was. I have no idea why I was surprised to see Max. I really don't.  
  
"Max," I said with a yawn. "What's up? What time is it?"  
  
"It's almost eight," He said with a smile. "Listen, I was wondering if you'd help me out with something. Get yourself dressed and meet me in my workroom, ok?"  
  
"Sure," I said with a sigh. "I'll be right there."  
  
"If this becomes a habit I am going to lose my patience," Clank said, giving me a hard frown as if it was somehow my fault.  
  
"I hear you," I nodded, looking around groggily for my shoes which I'd kicked off unceremoniously the night before.  
  
"Talwyn asked me to help her today," He said, climbing down from the armchair. "She has to speak to Qwark again regarding the Zoni temple. There are several indemnity forms he will have to approve before certain actions can be taken by the excavation team, and she says that if I do not help her talk to him she is going to shoot her holo-screen with a Negotiator. I tried to inform her that it would not, in fact, damage the screen but would only blow a hole in her wall but she did not seem to care."  
  
I chuckled at this, finally finding one of my boots. "Sounds serious."  
  
"I am not looking forward to it," He rubbed the spots where his temples would be if he'd had them.  
  
"Yeah, from what I remember your way of dealing with Qwark is more along the lines of using duct tape to glue him to a chair."  
  
He gave a laugh. "Duct tape is a surprisingly versatile tool."  
  
"No kidding," I said as he turned to leave. "Just don't let Tal blow any holes in the walls, ok? We kinda need the air in here to breathe."  
  
"I will try," He said as he walked out.  
  
Deja Vu was heavy as I grabbed some or other fruit from the kitchen before walking to Max's workroom. He was sitting behind his desk, once again writing in the large leather-bound book. Stacked around him on the desk as well as the floor were several of the artifacts we'd gone over already. I noticed they were all things that had unlocked themselves for me, regardless of what they actually were and if it was something Max had said could be useful for research or not.  
  
"Hey Max," I greeted as I looked around the now much more cramped room. "What's going on?"  
  
"Ratchet!" He waved me to come closer. "I was wondering if you'd help me out with a little experiment I want to try."  
  
I walked closer, turning my head to see what he was writing. There was a very long paragraph scrawled in the book, as well as some simplified drawings of some of the items, footnotes and labels written around them and arrows pointing to specific sections.  
  
"You like writing on paper too, huh?" I grinned as I leaned my hands on the desk-top. "What kind of experiment?"  
  
He tapped the book with the back of his pen as he beamed at me. "I've been thinking long and hard about this genetic lock. The lock itself I mean, not all the little doodads we've been playing around with. You remember how we said no other species has managed to figure out how it's done, right?"  
  
I gave a nod, picking up something I remembered as being an ammo capsule, long ago emptied. "Yeah, I remember Clank explaining that."  
  
"Right right," He nodded, going back to scribbling in the book. "Well I've been thinking, what if there's a chance we could figure out how to reverse engineer that knowledge? It'd be one of the most profound discoveries in galactic history!"  
  
I put the ammo cartridge down again. "Woah, what? That's kind of a major thing to just suddenly decide we should try and do by ourselves, isn't it? I mean, haven't other people tried to figure it out before? Why'd you suddenly decide we should do it?"  
  
"Because, my boy," He waggled his pen at me. "None of the other explorers and scientists before us had _you_ around so they could see first hand how an already working lock worked!" He pushed back from the desk and stood up, walking over to dig around a large pile of books and maps on top of a large chest. "There's a very good reason only the Lombaxes knew how to make these locks. It's because they guarded their technology more ferociously than a Snaggelbeast guards its young! Why do you think Tachyon, despite being raised by lombaxes, still had to pull major strings just to get access to it? And even then it was hardly a unanimous decision to give it to him. Now _that's_ some major secret guarding!"  
  
He walked back over to me, two or three large books under his trunk-like arms. "Not that I blame them! What's the point of making a lock and then giving everyone in the galaxy a copy of the key am, I right? And no Lombax was going to demonstrate the lock for any nosey scientist just because they asked right? Not when there were vultures sitting outside their door wanting to scavenge whatever technological scraps they could find. And, of course, once they left the galaxy it was pretty much considered a lost cause to try and reverse engineer these things. Especially when you can't even get them open in the first place, right?" He was paging through one of the large books before stopping at an entry and jabbing it with a finger before pushing it closer for me to look at.  
  
"But with your help, we could finally put an end to the mystery! Just think! It would revolutionise not only our knowledge of the Lombax themselves and their technology, but it will also benefit galactic security as a whole and make it a safer place!"  
  
The entry in the book he was showing me was a very large, full page technical drawing of some or other machine I couldn't make heads or tails of. It was only because of its label that I knew it was suppose to be a design for a lock using genetic material as its code rather than electronic or mechanical means. It wasn't drawn by Max, that I could tell. The paper of the book was thick and yellowed. The design I was looking at must've been at least a century old, if not older.  
  
I looked up at the explorer as he sat grinning at me, his arms folded over the desk's top.  
  
"I dunno about this," I said carefully. "I mean... giving someone access to technology they don't really understand has never really been a good idea. I mean, look at the Fongoids. They would've destroyed the entire universe, and even when that was stopped they still wiped out 86 star systems before things got back in control."  
  
Max blinked at me with large eyes. "I'm impressed! I hardly know of anyone, except some really seasoned explorers, who know about that, and even they are unsure whether it's true or just universal myth."  
  
I shook my head, determined not to get off track. "The point is, giving someone access to advanced technology they don't really understand never ends well. If the lombaxes locked certain things there was probably a good reason for it. I mean this stuff," I waved a hand at the stuff piled around the desk and floor. "I don't have a problem with because it's just basic things, but if someone finds a bunker one day that contains some world destroying bomb and they can just unlock it and give it to anyone to use, then I'm not gonna stick around this galaxy very long to see what happens."  
  
Max shook his head and waved his hands at me. "No no no. You misunderstand me, kid. I wasn't saying we're gonna figure out how to unlock Lombax tech. I'm saying we figure out how they do it and then find a way to develop the same kind of technology for other races." He laughed. "I didn't say anything about unlocking bombs!"  
  
"Oh yeah," I gave an embarrassed laugh. "Sorry. That was... man that was a new low in pessimism for me."  
  
Max didn't look insulted or discouraged in the least. "But the question remains, I'm gonna need your help with this. I can't exactly try and figure out how it was done without someone to activate these things."  
  
"Wouldn't it be better for a scientist or someone to try and work this out?" I asked.  
  
"D'you really think some Terachnoid is gonna have a better chance than an inventor and a Lombax expert?"  
  
I sighed in defeat. "Maybe not."  
  
"So will you help me?" He stared at me eagerly, almost as if he was begging me despite the fact that nothing in his voice suggested that that's what he was doing. Last night's conversation came to my mind again and I knew I'd lost.  
  
"I dunno what good it'll do, but I'll give it my best shot," I shrugged.  
  
Luckily I was a few steps away from Max and he had to settle for slapping the tabletop instead of my back, laughing loudly. "Excellent! Kid I swear, they're gonna have to make you an honorary member of the Archaeological Society of Polaris if we keep this up! Just er... remember to mention who it was that tutored you on this stuff, enh?" He gave me a wink.  
  
He reached forward and pulled the other two phonebook sized books he'd fetched closer. "Now pull up a chair! I've got a lot to run you through before we start!"  
  


* * *

  
  
The day carried on long into the night as Max went through the history of the genetic lock and all the people that came before us who'd tried cracking it and how successful they'd been. When we realised we'd been going past midnight, we decided to call it a day. The day after that Max told me he'd given me a basic introduction on the theory behind the lock and we should start on the studying part. This basically meant a lot of me unlocking some of the items he had over and over again as Max took down notes. We also tried to figure out if we could relock certain items that remained open once I'd touched them. We didn't get very far, but we came up with some interesting theories. Evening came again and Max dumped three very large, very thick books in my arms, telling me to read them over and study the theories they had.  
  
The project was kinda fun. It got my inventor's mind running overtime as I tried to figure out how something as simple as a lock could be so complex and frustrating. Whenever I went over the books he'd given me to to read I'd make notes in the margins with a pencil. I had no idea how old the books themselves were, but I figured Max wouldn't really care. He seemed far more interested in the lock itself than the value of some books. He was kinda funny that way. He seemed more interested in the way things actually worked than he was in their inherent value or what he could sell them for. It was actually kinda refreshing. Real passion like that wasn't something you just learned.  
  
A couple of days went by with Max dragging me out my room as early as he could get away with and us working well into the night. More than likely we were overdoing it because eventually, Talwyn stepped in. She walked into Max's workroom one morning where we were disassembling one of the inventions the Society had sent us.  
  
"Good morning, boys," She smiled warmly at us as she walked over.  
  
"Hey Tal," I smiled at her, suddenly realising how long it'd been since I'd actually seen her despite being under the same roof.  
  
"Morning, love," Her father said, looking up to give her a quick smile before going back to writing.  
  
"I was wondering if you'd like to take a ride with me, dad?" She asked, sitting down on the desk and giving him a hopeful smile. "I mean... I know you're busy and stuff, but I need to pick up a few things for next week and I thought it'd be nice if you got out a little."  
  
"What's happening next week?" I interrupted before Max could shoot her down.  
  
"Oh. It's Qwark," She said with a growl. "Or, more specifically, it's the whole Polaris government. Apparently they want me in person to look over some details regarding what they want to do with the temple's findings, scarce as they are. Don't ask me why we can't just do it over the phone! They insisted I go there in person and discuss this with them, as well as sign a bunch of papers and who knows what else."  
  
"And they don't want to see Max?" I asked, surprised.  
  
She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "They said since I'm the one they've been talking to about this, it'd be best if we just keep it that way." She turned to her dad. "But when I come back there's gonna be a lot of papers we're gonna have to go through together, dad. I can't keep you out of this forever, you know." She smiled again softly. "But anyway, I wondered, before I dove head first into all that if you'd like to go shopping with me. I need some new equipment for my ship as well as basic things like food for the station."  
  
"I'm helping with the ship when you come back, right?" I asked, trying hard not to sound too much like a kid being promised candy.  
  
She gave me a sly look. "Maaaaaybe."  
  
I chuckled, nudging Max with an elbow. "Come on, Max. Do me a favour and put her in a good mood for me, huh? Besides, we've been doing this for days on end. A break's probably a good idea."  
  
"Please, daddy?" Talwyn flashed him a pout.  
  
He burst out laughing. "Alright alright! I can't exactly say no when the two of you gang up on me like that, can I?!" He gave Talwyn a gentler smile. "Get yourself ready and I'll join you in five."  
  
"Thanks, dad." She leaned forward to peck him on the cheek before trotting out the room happily.  
  
"I get to help on that ship!" I called after her but if she heard she ignored me.  
  
"And you better not do anything until I get back," Max said as he stood up, straightening his back with muffled complaints. "Have you finished reading those books I gave you?"  
  
I shook my head. "Not yet. I'm working through them but there's still a few chapters to go."  
  
"You're flaking on the job, boy." He waggled a finger at me as we left the room.  
  
"I've been reading them every night after we're done working!" I said in protest. "I'm just taking notes and stuff so it's taking a while."  
  
"Good lad." Back slap. "Give 'em another read when we're gone, alright? Time waits for no-one, after all."  
  
"Ain't that the truth," I said more to myself than to him.  
  
When Talwyn and Max left the station I got one of the bigger books that I was having a problem with from my room and made myself comfortable on the couch in the main living area. I'd been trying to read a chapter last night but it'd been late and I'd had a rough time absorbing the words. With a pencil at the ready I reread the chapter, now and then making a note of something.  
  
I yawned to myself as I read a paragraph talking about hypersonic frequencies and its effect on certain steels. I could hear Kronk and Zephyr's voices float up from somewhere in the station as they argued about something. I had no doubt they were probably gonna go with Talwyn when she left for the Polaris head of government next week. I didn't envy her for all the management she was being put through, and I envied her even less for trying to get Qwark to listen to anything regarding legalities. I doubted he could even spell 'legalities'. If it were me, I'd probably have been arrested by now for shooting him in frustration. I wondered if I should unload Talwyn's blaster before she left, just in case.  
  
I smiled to myself as I pictured her trying to blow his head off when he insists she discussed a certain law with his head of defence... Skrunch the monkey.  
  


* * *

  
  
Something tapped me lightly. I made a noise and swatted at it, rolling over and away from where it'd come from.  
  
This didn't help and the tap came again, this time followed by something giving my shoulder a light shake. I grumbled and opened my eyes, staring at a blank stretch of blue material. I realised after a moment I was staring at the back of the couch. Something tapped me on my shoulder again, followed by a voice.  
  
"Ratchet?"  
  
I gave a groan, rolling onto my back again and rubbing at my eyes. I pushed myself up to my elbows and glared half-heartedly at Clank who was staring up at me. "This'd better be good, pal."  
  
He simply glared back with a lot more feeling than I did and crossed his arms at me. "I have been trying to wake you for the past five minutes."  
  
"Why?" I sighed, sitting up properly, causing the large book to fall off my chest and hit the floor. I swore under my breath and moved to pick it up.  
  
"That's why," Clank said when I put it on the coffee table.  
  
"What're you talking about?" I grumbled. I was in no mood for vagueness at the moment.  
  
Clank uncrossed his arms and lost the glare, staring at me with something like exasperation instead. "Ratchet, when exactly was the last time you had a full night's sleep?"  
  
I tried to think but my body was still complaining about being woken up too suddenly. I shook my head with a sigh. "I dunno. Why, what's this about? And come to think of it, why wake me up just to tell me I'm not sleeping enough? What kind of sense does that make?!"  
  
"It is not only the late nights you have been pulling I want to talk about," He said, climbing up to sit next to me on the couch.  
  
"Do we have to do this now?" I mumbled, rubbing my face again tiredly.  
  
"Yes we have to do this now," He said sternly. "For your information you have not slept a full night in almost a whole week, and although a late night is nothing strange coming from you, an early morning every day afterwards is going to take its toll eventually which, clearly, it has started doing."  
  
"You're not my babysitter, you know," I shot him a dirty look.  
  
"I beg to differ," He said with a slight snap. "And in any case, this is about more than just not sleeping enough."  
  
My frown became confused as I stared at him, still annoyed. "What're you talking about?"  
  
He seemed to relax slightly as he turned to face me a little better. "Ratchet, I have not seen you in almost five days."  
  
I gave a dismissive shrug. "You could've crashed in on us if you're bored."  
  
He shook his head. "That is not what I mean." He put his fingertips together. "How do I word this?" He turned to me again. "I mean that you have done nothing but be holed up with Mr. Apogee in his workroom for almost an entire week. You wake up, go into that room and only come out well into the night. This is the first time in days I have seen you anywhere else. And what were you doing before falling asleep?" He shot the book on the coffee-table an accusing glare. "You are still working on Mr. Apogee's project."  
  
"Ok, so I'm overdoing it a little," I sighed. "I get it."  
  
He shook his head again. "No you do not. Ratchet, I am use to you getting involved in a project or task that you will work on for hours on end, but this behaviour is bordering on obsession, and that is not a trait that you really tend to exhibit." I opened my mouth to interrupt but he quickly cut me off. "When you do, it will be about something you put high importance on such as someone's wellfare, whether it be a friend or an entire planet or galaxy. Not something like an invention or a gadget."  
  
"I've worked on some stuff pretty fanatically before," I argued.  
  
"But not up to the point where you do not sleep for days and days on end."  
  
I leaned back. "Ok ok, I'll take it a little easier from now on."  
  
He fixed me a hard stare. "Why is this thing you are working on so important?"  
  
I lifted my head to look at him again. "It's this genetic lock thing. We're trying to figure out how it was done so we could make one ourselves."  
  
His eyes blinked in full rotation at me. "And why is that so important?"  
  
I frowned, sitting up straight again. "It'd be one of the greatest discoveries ever made! People've been trying to figure out how to do it for years!"  
  
"And why do you care?" He gave a shrug.  
  
"Well because..." I faltered. "Because it's... Well see the lombaxes were the only species who ever figured out how to do it!"  
  
He nodded at this. "So you feel you have a personal connection with this project because of that?"  
  
"Well I'm the only guy who can really help figure it out."  
  
"No, I mean do you feel it somehow brings you closer to your heritage in some way?"  
  
I frowned. "Well... no uhm... no it's not really that."  
  
He returned my frown. "So why do you care so much as to put yourself in sleep deprivation over it?"  
  
"W...well Max said he wouldn't be able to do it without my help!"  
  
"So you are harming yourself for Max's obsession," His tone was accusing and bordering on angry.  
  
"No! I'm..." I stuttered. "I wanna help the guy out..."  
  
"By harming yourself."  
  
"By helping him with his research!"  
  
"Why?" He stood up but kept facing me. "Why is it so important that you help him?!"  
  
"Because it's important to him!" I was starting to yell.  
  
"But is it important to you?!"  
  
"It's...!" I stopped, glaring at him as I tried to sort out my thoughts, but I could only repeat myself. "I wanna help the guy out!"  
  
"Alright, so answer me this," His hands fell on his hips. "Why is reverse-engineering a lock so important to an explorer and archaeologist?! Should he not instead be focusing on his finds and artifacts?!"  
  
"We've gone through all of those!" I yelled. "There's nothing else for me to help him with!"  
  
"So why exactly are you still doing it?! And about something that, really, he should have no interest in?" Clank's voice was starting to lower in volume again.  
  
"Because I'm here and no-one else's had that opportunity before when trying to figure this thing out!" I snapped although my voice was calming down too.  
  
Clank didn't reply and we sat in silence, fuming at each other for a minute or so. He wasn't backing down and I refused to either, glaring right back at him.  
  
"Ratchet," He said, his voice collected but his frown still hard. "He is exploiting you for his own ends."  
  
"No he's not," I said curtly without bothering to think about it first.  
  
"He. Is. Exploiting you." His frown hardened. "And you are letting him do it."  
  
"He's not using me!" My voice grew louder again.  
  
"Then what would you call it?!" He snapped back.  
  
I huffed angrily and tried to think of a retort. Unfortunately this had the side-effect of making me think about what Max and I'd been doing for the past few days, and how Max had been getting me involved. I refused Clank's opinion and tried to think about it from different angles and from Max's point of view. The more I thought about it though, the more I realised that, even if he wasn't doing it on purpose, Max really was the one who was dragging me into this and it was really his passion and hunger for the subject that was keeping me involved.  
  
I deepened my frown at Clank with a mixture of defiance and annoyance. However my lack of a reply was all he needed.  
  
"Why are you letting him do this?" He asked, much calmer than before. "You offered to help originally because you felt you might learn something about yourself and where you have come from. What does a genetic lock have to do with any of that? And why would an explorer take it upon himself to do that sort of research which, really, should fall to a more scientific division of archaeology, not to someone who works in the field."  
  
I knew I was beat and dropped my shoulders, although I refused to ease up on my frown simply out of pride. Clank, however, sat down again, trying to talk sense more than just accusing me. "Do you even care about this lock?"  
  
I broke eye-contact, glaring at one of the walls instead. After a few minutes I eventually gave up. "Not really..."  
  
Clank said nothing for a while although I could still feel his eyes on me. Eventually he broke the silence again.  
  
"He has done nothing but obsess over his work since we have been here. I think it would be better for both of you if you stopped working on this. He has a daughter he needs to try and build a relationship with, which he has not been making the effort to do, I have noticed. You have your own life. You should not put it aside for someone else's sake."  
  
"You're doing the babysitter thing again," I grumbled.  
  
"Besides," He carried on as if he didn't hear me. "I would have thought being trapped on a space station for so many days would have driven you insane long ago. You have never been the kind of person to shackle yourself to a desk and debate over theories, Ratchet." The last sentence was said with a smile.  
  
"I hate it when you're right," I huffed.  
  
"I don't," The smile perked slightly.  
  
I sighed. "Ok... so I'll think a bit about what I should say to Max when he gets back. I mean, you are right you know. I don't... really care about this lock thing. Not really. I mean it's a fun idea but not something I really want to spend every hour of every day on, y'know?" I rubbed my face again with both my hands. "I don't really know what I'm suppose to do, though."  
  
"Get some sleep," Clank said. "That should take first priority. You will feel better afterwards."  
  
"Yeah," I nodded. "Sleep sounds good right about now."  
  
"I do not doubt it," He said, hopping down off the couch again.  
  
I frowned to myself after a moment, turning to him again. "Wait a minute, what do you mean 'you beg to differ'?!"  
  


* * *

  
  
A nap did help me think a little clearer, but it did nothing for how conflicted I felt. It also really hammered in the fact that, as much as I didn't like admitting it, Clank was right. Then again, Clank was almost always right. Almost.  
  
I doubted he was doing it on purpose, or that he was even aware of it, but Max was kinda crossing the line with how much he was asking me to do. I really didn't mind helping, which is why it kinda killed me to have to think about it, but it really was reaching a point where it was a little unfair towards me. After Clank had called me out on it, it was really painfully obvious, and I wondered how the heck I'd let myself get mixed up in Max's ideas so deeply. When I was younger I was a real selfish brat. I kinda wondered when exactly I'd changed so much that I was putting other's ahead of myself to this degree. You can't win, can you?  
  
I made my way to Max's workroom again. It was already evening and I'd heard him and Tal come home about half an hour ago. I was surprised when Max didn't drag me out of bed. Maybe Talwyn had something to do with that. Or Clank. I didn't know. I was really dreading the conversation I was about to have. I sighed to myself as I opened the workroom door and poked my head inside.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Oh, there you are!" Max greeted me, working in his book as always. "What happened to you, kid? Too many sleepless nights catch up to you?" He chuckled.  
  
"Yeah, about that..." I entered the room, closing the door behind me. "We need to talk."  
  
He stopped writing, lifting his head to blink at me. "Oh? Sounds serious."  
  
"Yeah," I said again nodding. "Uhm... I've kinda been thinking. About this whole... lock thing I mean."  
  
Max nodded, folding his hands together on the desk-top. "Oh yes?"  
  
I nodded again. "I think we're letting ourselves get consumed by this thing. I mean, I know you're really into it but really, I just wanted to help with some of your research... but I kinda feel like I've let it take over... and that's not really good. Especially since it's not really my scene, you know?"  
  
Max said nothing as he fixed me with one of his signature stares. I was really starting to hate them.  
  
I rubbed the back of my neck, going on. "So erm... I was thinking... this whole lock thing... I mean it's not really your field either, right? I mean I know why you wanna do it but... that's the kinda thing you do as a side-project or something, right? But we've basically been obsessing over it. And that's not good. I mean, I do have my own life you know and, uhm... you should... I dunno..." I took a breath. "I'm sure Talwyn would like to hang out with you a little more. I think I've kinda been stealing you away from her a bit."  
  
He frowned lightly, staring thoughtfully at the top of the desk. I said nothing, watching him nervously but hoping he was listening. He hadn't started arguing with me yet, that was promising.  
  
"Maybe we could... give it a rest?" I tried putting the final nail in it.  
  
"We have been burying ourselves in this thing pretty deep," Max said softly, although if he was talking directly to me I didn't know. I nodded anyway.  
  
"I mean don't get me wrong, I don't mind helping out, but I think we got carried away," I gave a hopeful smile.  
  
Max was quiet and I waited for him to say something. Things seemed to be going ok so far but I was worried the conversation would start sliding downhill. Eventually Max took in a deep breath and spoke again.  
  
"It would still be an incredible discovery though..."  
  
I gave a nod. "Yeah but... it's not really something we should be trying to figure out. I mean let's face it, Max, we might as well be beating our heads against the wall, whether I'm here to help or not. This isn't exactly something the two of us have any training in, right? Best to leave it up to some Terachnoid locksmith somewhere who has nothing better to do."  
  
He nodded at this. "No-one's really gonna have much more luck with it though. Not without our help."  
  
I raised my shoulders slightly. "There's not much good I can really do though. I'm no locksmith, I'm not an archaeologist and I'm no scientist either. I barely qualify as a lombax." I gave a mirthless laugh. "You know more about them than I do. And forgetting how sad that is for a moment, it means there's not really anything I can contribute. Let the Society of whatever deal with trying to figure it out. I mean, you'll send them your notes, right? You've got enough of them, after all."  
  
He gave another slow nod. "If they want to do any of their own tests or experiments they're gonna be stuck though."  
  
"Well I donno what to tell you," I gave a slight shrug. "I'm just one guy, Max... I can't do everything. And I've got my own stuff going on too. Besides..." I felt my ears drop slightly. "Isn't saving the galaxy multiple times enough? Do I really gotta give and do more?"  
  
The atmosphere in the room felt stuffy as a very long, uncomfortable pause dragged out between us. Max seemed lost in thought, frowning in concentration at the book in front of him. I stood in silence, chewing on the inside of my cheek in anticipation. Eventually Max let out a very long exhale as his shoulders dropped. It almost looked like he was deflating. He gave his head a slow shake.  
  
"I think you may be right, kid. We're really trying to bite off more than we can chew with this." He paged through his own book, looking over its entries. "I'm sure they'll be able to figure out something from all of this." He stopped, a soft frown forming on his face. "And maybe... we can give them something more to work with too."  
  
I blinked at him. "What do you mean?"  
  
He stood up, giving me a smile I wasn't sure what to make of. "The lock is programmed to respond to you, right?" I nodded as he sat on his desk. "Well, we haven't figured out how that works. Is it something genetic as the name suggests? We don't know. But maybe we can help the Institute find out, without shipping you to them I mean."  
  
"I'm listening," I said although I was cautious. I didn't know what he was trying to get at.  
  
"Well, if the lock is genetic, then who says they need you there in person to run tests? They could just use a DNA sample to do the work. There's no rule that we know of saying you need to physically be there for the lock to react. Not as far as we know, anyway. So I just had a thought, what if we sent them something to work with? You don't need to hang out in a lab for who knows how long and they'll actually have more to work with than anyone running these tests before them."  
  
"What, you mean like a hair or something?" I scrunched my muzzle at him.  
  
"That might work," He gave a nod. "although a proper DNA sample would be better." He looked at me expectantly.  
  
It took a few minutes before the gears in my head clicked.  
  
"You can't seriously be talking about blood," I said, frowning at him.  
  
"You've never had any blood-work done, kid?" He chuckled.  
  
"Not really no," I said flatly.  
  
"You've obviously never really been sick. Count your lucky stars," He gave me a smile. "But it's basically the same thing. We send them a sample and bam, your direct involvement is no longer needed and we still get what we need to make a breakthrough." His dark eyes locked onto mine again.  
  
I didn't like the idea. I didn't like it at all. But I couldn't deny Max's plan made sense. Not to mention it would give everyone what they wanted. Max got the chance to help in what could be a major discovery and I got to help out Max without completely sacrificing all my time and energy. Besides, I knew Max wouldn't do anything irresponsible with it, and the Polaris government was so paranoid they'd probably put a thousand security measures around it and wrap it up with so much red-tape it'd be impossible to even know about it without passing some kind of rigorous exam.  
  
"You'd be a big help, Ratchet," Max added when I didn't say anything. "It would mean a lot to me."  
  
I knew it would too. The aged face didn't dare look away from mine. The sun had burnt deep creases into his skin and his eyes were almost black as he burnt holes in me, waiting anxiously and hungrily for an answer.  
  
"You'll tell them if they mess with it that I own more firepower than a small country, right?" I asked reluctantly.  
  
The seriousness seemed a little lost on him as he chuckled and gave a nod. "And you'll use it too, I'm sure. But they'll get the message, you have my word."  
  
I paused for a moment until, finally, I gave a nod. "Ok, if you think it'll help."  
  
Max's impossible grin widened. "You're a real life saver, my boy."  
  
I gave him a weak smile, not sure if I was doing the right thing.  
  


* * *

  
  
"I told him we should quit this lock business," I said when I walked back into our room.  
  
"Did he take it well?" Clank asked, putting down his book.  
  
I nodded, taking my helmet off to get ready for bed. "Yeah, he did. I just told him the same stuff you did, minus the whole 'you're dragging me too deeply into this' part and he agreed it's probably something best left up to the science nerds and not us."  
  
Clank smiled brightly. "Well Done."  
  
I smiled back and nodded. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was gonna be. I really thought he'd be more freaked out by what I had to say than he was."  
  
"If you explain things logically then people have no choice but to listen to reason," Clank nodded to himself.  
  
"Uhm... that's not really true, pal."  
  
He looked stunned at this. I chuckled. "Anyway, I'm gonna hit the hay and I'm sleeping in tomorrow. Don't you dare wake me!"  
  
"I have no intention to," He closed his book and put it away.  
  
A few minutes later I was waiting to fall asleep. I rubbed the inside of my elbow absentmindedly. I could feel a dull bruise forming, although it was hidden by fur. I was a little worried I'd keep myself awake by fretting over what'd just happened, but I was so tired.  
  
I didn't wake up until morning was becoming afternoon.


	9. Sightseeing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really like this chapter, even if it's not as eventful as later events. I think I like it more in retrospect than when I wrote it.

"I'm really not looking forward to this," Talwyn said for about the fifth time.  
  
I laughed at her. "Yeah, I'm starting to get that idea. Hand me the electrode holder will ya?"  
  
She handed me the tool and I ducked under the hood of her ship again. "You'd think they'd have some kind of tact, being politicians and all! I mean, I just got my dad back and now they're dragging me away from him to deal with some of their laws and protocols instead of, you know, letting me be with my dad!"  
  
I stopped what I was doing, looking up at her again. She sat next to her ship's open bonnet with her legs and arms crossed, glaring off into the middle distance. I put the tool down again and straightened a little, resting my hands on the edge of the ship's bonnet, hooking my fingers around the edge of it.  
  
"I wanted to say sorry about that, by the way."  
  
She blinked several times as I dragged her away from whatever mental train she was riding before looking at me. "Sorry? What for?"  
  
"Well... you know." I picked up my wrench and ducked under the hood again, attaching its head to an exposed bolt and giving it a few cranks, the metallic friction against my hand giving me some confidence. "I've kinda been spending way too much time with our dad. That's kinda what you're suppose to do. I didn't really mean to barge in on that."  
  
I heard her give a soft laugh. "Uhm, I thought I was the one who invited you here in the first place."  
  
I turned to look up at her again, feeling a little better at her brushing off my apology so easily. She beamed at me warmly, her hands gripping the edge of the ship, no longer tightly crossed across her chest.  
  
"Well, yeah I know." I straightened, scratching at the back of my neck absently as I pretended to give the ship engine a visual inspection as I spoke. "But that doesn't mean I had a right to completely take over. I feel kinda bad about that."  
  
She shook her head lightly. "I wanted you to meet dad. I mean yeah, I admit it was kinda to show him that I was and still am interested in his work, but you're also my friend." Her smile deepened. "I was hoping you two would get along. It was important to me. I'm just glad it worked out and you don't dislike each other. That would've sucked. A lot."  
  
I gave a singular laugh as I felt myself smiling involuntarily. "Yeah, that would've been a new degree of awkward."  
  
"Not just that, but I didn't want to feel like I had to choose between the two of you." Her smile softened. "I don't really think I would've been able to do that."  
  
I gave a more playful laugh at this, shooting her a skeptical look. "Really? You'd think about siding with me over your dad?"  
  
Her smile quick-changed into a frown and she put her boot against me, giving me a soft shove. "Don't twist my words! I'm trying to say something serious here!"  
  
I laughed again, quickly side-stepping out of her reach. "Hey, I _am_ serious! I'm just telling you what I'm hearing!"  
  
She made an irritated noise at me. "Well. The point I'm trying to make is I'm glad you two seem to have become friends. That's better than I could've hoped for."  
  
I shrugged, coming closer again to focus back on her engine. "He's a cool guy. A little obsessed maybe, but still cool."  
  
"Yeah," She said, a little softer than I liked.  
  
"Something wrong?" I asked, turning to her again.  
  
She didn't say anything for a moment before giving a sigh. "I wish he'd cool it with the research and stuff a little and.. I dunno... live life or something. I'm worried about him, you know. I don't really think it's healthy for him to stay cooped up on this station. He was stuck in one place for so long, I don't want him to start forming some kind of reclusive behaviour."  
  
"I don't think it's that big a deal," I said although I kept my eyes on her.  
  
"Maybe not." She uncrossed her legs. "But I'm still worried. He needs to get out more. He should be trying to find where he sits in the galaxy again. He should be seeing what's out there and what's changed, not locked up in this station pouring over rocks and books. He's always been really involved with his work you know, ever since I was a little girl." She sunk a bit. "Back then when he was on a dig site or working in the field he'd take me with him. He'd let me help him clean up artifacts and he'd teach me what they were and why they were important. But when it was time to go home that stuff would be left on the dig site, and instead he'd ask what I'd like to do."  
  
Guilt sat like a piece of lead in my stomach as I watched her talk. She straightened again and forced a sad smile on her face. "Now it seems like he's more interested in the work than me. But that's ok. He's been gone so long he's probably just not use to having someone around to share these things with."  
  
"I've been around," It sounded more like a confession than an argument.  
  
Her smile brightened a little at me again. "You got him to open up a little bit. I'm really happy about that. It's just a shame about this damn appointment I have. I could've tried to bring him out of his shell a little bit more. Instead I have to jump through political hoops and juggle all these things with the temple instead of focusing on what's really important. But there's nothing we can do about that."  
  
I nodded but I didn't feel any better about it.  
  
"At least it's only for a few days," She said, doing her best to sound a little more cheerful. "And once it's done it'll be out of the way. Any other legalities me and dad can work on together." She scrunched her nose slightly as her smile perked and her shoulders rose happily. "It's not a dig site but it's something at least."  
  
I managed a smile, switching my wrench with a pair of pliers instead and tackling an electrical wire. "When you've got it sorted out maybe you can get him to take you to the place. I think you'll have earned seeing it in person by now."  
  
She giggled. "No doubt! I think I'd like that. Maybe the two of us can find some amazing discovery and set the universe on fire with an amazing find never heard of before! I use to pretend that's what we were doing when I was with him on his digs, although we never found anything really important. He only took me to the safer digs. The important stuff was always at the foot of an active volcano or on some sulphur world or something like that. I only learned this later though."  
  
"You could still get your chance." I shot her a grin. "There could be a sulphur volcano in the middle of that temple thing. They still haven't gotten inside it, you know."  
  
"Oh sure, make jokes while I'm baring my soul here." She pulled a face at me. "Boys. I swear."  
  
"What's that suppose to mean?" I frowned at her. She shrugged in response.  
  
"Oh, nothing really," She shot me a disapproving look. "And you've smeared oil all over the back of your neck."  
  
"It builds character," I said as I went back to work, groaning inwardly at how much soap it was gonna take to get that out of my fur.  
  
That evening we were all in the living room again for what felt like the first time in weeks, although it had only been a handful of days. The lights were turned low as we waited for the news to finish so we could watch the nightly movie. Kronk and Zephyr were taking up most of the couch but Clank managed to fit into the one corner of it. Talwyn was sitting in her armchair while Max occupied his usual paternal throne. I sat in front of the couch, using it as a backrest.  
  
The story of the zoni temple had been reduced to nothing but an update bar at the bottom of the screen, and Max Apogee's rescue and recovery wasn't even being talked about any more. In the meantime, some or other celebrity pop singer had announced she was marrying a pro-hoverboarder and another had had a wardrobe malfunction at some or other event. Clearly these were much better topics to report on. It had also finally been decided that Vullards were not in fact robotic based in the fact that no robot would let their parts get as rusted as the they did.  
  
"So you're leaving tomorrow then, love?" Max made idle conversation, clearly as bored by the report as I was.  
  
She gave a nod. "Yeah. I shouldn't be gone long though. A few days at the most. I'd like you to come, but the Polaris government said it wouldn't be such a good idea. They didn't want the media to start asking questions as to who actually owns the temple. Not until they've sorted it out themselves."  
  
He nodded and gave her a grin. "Sounds like a good idea. Of course, anything that keeps me out of politics as long as possible is gonna sound like a good idea to me!"  
  
"Yeah, but I still kinda wish you could come." She gave a sigh and a slight pout. "I really feel you should get out more, daddy. All this sitting around is gonna drive you crazy."  
  
His grin widened dramatically at this. "I actually had an idea, but I'm gonna need to run it by you lot first."  
  
I shifted my position as I turned to him. I felt the cushions of the couch against my back adjust as Clank did the same thing behind me.  
  
"You're not gonna run off into the wilderness, are you?" She gave him a distrustful look.  
  
He laughed at this, waving a hand at her. "Not exactly. Well... not completely anyway." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he folded his hands. "I was thinking, I've been running both this boy and myself into the ground lately with boring book research." He nodded towards me as he spoke. "And really, that's not very fair. The kid's not one of my old college study buddies. So I was trying to think of a way to make it up to him."  
  
"Oh yeah?" I gave a hopeful smile as my ears perked.  
  
He turned his grin from Tal to me. "Yeah. You've been wanting to learn more about your own kind, right? I mean, that's why you wanted to help me in the first place from the sounds of it. Well, the Polaris Institute of Research has warehouses upon warehouses full of artifacts. We could be going through crates until we're part of our own exhibit! 'The two guys who didn't know when to quit'. Ooooor..."  
  
"Or... what?" Talwyn raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
Max leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his chest. "Or, if he's up for it, we could take a more hands-on approach to things. Go to the source as it were." His eyes settled on me. "What do you say I take you on a little sight-seeing tour, kid? I could show you some of the better preserved Lombax sites out there. There's nothing left to discover but I think you might get a kick out of it. From the sounds of it, you've already been to Fastoon and you've obviously been to Rykan V and Jasindu, but I have a few other little places of interest up my sleeve."  
  
"You're not gonna drag him to some ruin on top of a jagged snow-covered mountain guarded by snow-beasts, are you?" Talwyn said but she smiled through her frown.  
  
"Of course not!" He gave her a laugh. "These sites have been documented and studied for years! They're just not as big of a tourist trap as some of the other places."  
  
"Erm... Rykan V is a lava refinery and Jasindu is the Kerchu capitol of the galaxy," I pointed out. "Neither of them are really great vacation spots."  
  
"Details details!" Max brushed it off. "The point is there are more interesting Lombax sites out there not as many people know about, except the people in my social circles, of course, but they've been picked clean of anything really valuable. However, archaeology might not be where the value lies for you, enh?" The grin widened again.  
  
"Do you think I can trust him, Tal?" I turned to her with a chuckle.  
  
"I think so." She smiled back. "And it would make me feel a little better to hear he's been giving you a sight-seeing tour instead of growing mushrooms here in the dark."  
  
I turned to the person whose advice I was really looking for. "What d'you think, pal? You wanna do some sight-seeing before we head home?"  
  
Clank tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm. It would be interesting to see some historical sites provided they do not put us in unnecessary danger."  
  
"Sounds like it's up to you to give the word, son." Max turned back to me enthusiastically.  
  
I gave a nod. "Sounds like fun! Besides, I kinda need to get out of here. No offence, Tal, but I'm starting to feel like I'm living in a fishbowl."  
  
"No offence taken," She replied.  
  
"So it's settled." Max clapped his hands together loudly, making me start. "When you leave tomorrow, me and the kid will do a quick round trip of some of the sites, and we'll meet you back here when you come home! Or I will, these boys'll probably be itching to get home by then."  
  
"Sounds like a plan." She nodded happily.  
  
"So which one of us gets ta stay home and housesit while you young 'uns run rampant across the galaxy?" Kronk spoke up.  
  
"You and Zephyr are coming with me," Talwyn said to him patiently.  
  
"We'll hafta remember to lock the place up, then," He said as he rubbed his chin, flakes of rust coming off and coating the chair. "Last time, someone forgot and them centerpedes out on the asteroids got in and made a mess a things."  
  
"It wouldnt've happened if you'd remembered ta bug-bomb the place the day before!" Zephyr shot back.  
  
"Who bug-bombs a space station?"  
  
"People whose asteroids're infested with centerpedes!"  
  
Talwyn laughed. "We'll lock up, don't worry. Although I think bug-bombing the place might be a little overkill."  
  
"We'll see about that when yer pickin' centerpedes out yer drawers, miss," Zephyr sulked.  
  


* * *

  
  
"You really don't mind going?" I asked when the two of us were alone in our room.  
  
Clank shook his head. "No. I think it will be an interesting opportunity for us to learn something about the lombaxes as well as expand our knowledge of the Polaris galaxy as a whole."  
  
"Yeah but... it's more of Max dragging us off to do stuff. I thought you were getting annoyed about that." I pulled back the bed's blanket before burrowing under it. It was light but soft and kept off the chill. There wasn't a big need for heavy blankets on a temperature controlled space station, but Veldin was a hot place and I'd never managed to get completely use to the drop in temperature on space stations and ships.  
  
"This is different," Clank's voice said from the other side of the blanket. "Mr. Apogee acknowledged that he has been overworking both you and himself and wishes to make it up to you. Besides, I agree with Talwyn. It is a good thing that he goes outside for a while, and since she is going to be gone for a few days I think it is a good idea that you can give him an excuse to do so."  
  
"A few days ago you said you didn't like that he was using me, now you're happy about it," I chuckled as I poked my head out around the pillow side of the bed.  
  
"This is not him using you. It is us using him to do him some good. There is a profound difference." He wasn't smiling when he said this but I could hear it in his voice.  
  
"Oh yeah, because when we do it it's perfectly ok." I rolled my eyes, flopping down and sinking into the pillow. It was feather-stuffed and far too soft for what a space-station demanded. You could tell a girl had picked it out.  
  
"Our intentions are good ones," Clank argued behind me somewhere as I rolled onto my side. "And we are doing it for everyone's well-being. Not because of an obsession."  
  
"Sure, when you put it that way it all sounds well and good..." I yawn, curling up and twisting the blankets tighter around myself. "Now shut up. I wanna get some sleep."  
  
"Besides, I am also tired of sitting around this station," He said as I heard him fold himself shut.  
  


* * *

  
  
 _"We'll be landing on the largest continent of Francia. I'm sending you co-ordinance for the exact location. Just set your ship down and wait for me if I'm not there already. But don't go wandering around the place on your own! I don't want to have to tell my daughter I misplaced her lombax!"_  
  
"Roger," I used the more formal term out of habit. "Co-ordinance for rendezvous received. I'll see you there, Max, but don't leave me hanging, ok? I don't have a large attention span."  
  
"Very funny, kid. Just follow the directions, ok? And no impromptu exploring."  
  
"It is like he does not even know us," Clank said with a laugh.  
  
"Right." I nodded. "I know how to stay put when I need to."  
  
"I meant he seems to be under the impression that we can not take care of ourselves when we eventually wander off," Clank said, smirking at me.  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, pal."  
  
As we entered the planet's atmosphere I noticed that, although it had large land-masses, all of its continents were almost completely broken up by water. They either pooled in large lakes or crisscrossed the land in wide rivers, looking like someone had tried to draw a grid on a piece of paper while being drunk out of their mind.  
  
I brought Aphelion to the location sent by Max and found a place to set her down. When I got out the cockpit I took a moment to look over the landscape properly. What stretched out in front of me was a vast expanse of water, smooth as glass. Islands dotted its surface both as small round mounds of earth covered in short grass and ferns, as well as large sections of land that each supported a small forest. In the distance I could see clouds almost hugging the surface of the water as sharp, cragged mountains rose up from the horizon. Between the far off distance and myself, a massive crevasse ran through the lake causing thousands upon thousands of gallons of water to run over grey polished stone and thunder into the water several feet below it, only for the land to steadily rise again and be free of the water, becoming the ground I had landed upon. The falls had to be miles away but I could still hear the faint roar of the water even from this distance.  
  
The air smelled and tasted like river-air. Thick with the smell of freshwater plants, trees and branches washed up on the banks, and green algae baking in the sun on the water's surface. There were sounds of birds from the various trees that grew on whatever islands they could find.  
  
What I didn't see however, was any sign of civilisation. There were no buildings in the distance, no docks or ships on the water or even fishermen. The air, apart from smelling like the lake, was clear and there were no traces of exhaust or other chemicals one found on the citied planets like Kerwan or, even worse, Igliak. This place felt wild.  
  
The peace was broken by the sound of approaching engines. Max set down his ship a safe distance from Aphelion before extending its ramp and exiting. He was carrying a large backpack, as well as a rather old-looking camera around his neck. He was still in khakis but he'd put on some heavy-duty shoes and an old explorer's hat that looked like it had seen a lot in its day.  
  
"Nice place, enh?" He grinned at me as he came closer.  
  
I nodded, turning back to the landscape in front of me. "Yeah. But... I don't see any signs of anything built here. No ruins, no towers, nothing."  
  
"It's not built right out on the water," Max said, completely unphased. He turned and started walking in the opposite direction, moving through the trees. "It's not too far but it was very overgrown last time I was here. No landing space for a ship, you see."  
  
I started walked after him, reaching down and pulling Clank onto my back on instinct where I felt him click into place.  
  
"There aren't any giant monsters on this planet I should know about, right?' I said as we cut a trail.  
  
"Only in the water," Max said somewhere ahead of me. "And unless you're planning to take a dip, I'm not too worried about those."  
  
The trees towered above us. Their trunks could've been hollowed out and used as elevator shafts they were so thick. Their wood was so dark it was almost black and the entire forest floor was coated by sharp, prickling leaves fallen from the branches high above us. I could hear birds in their thousands, completely unseen from the ground. The sun was mostly blotted out by the thick canopy of branches and the further we walked, the cooler it became. The smell of rich wood mixed in with the scent of freshwater. My boots crunched noisily over the fallen leaves and twigs as I trotted to keep up with Max.  
  
"Why would the Lombaxes come here?" I asked, rubbing my arms. "It's kinda chilly, and if there's one thing I've managed to figure out on my own, it's that the rest of my kind hate the cold about as much as I do."  
  
Max gave a chuckle and nodded. "Most Lombax colonies were founded on warmer planets, it's true, but Francia has something special to it."  
  
"Oh yeah? Is it worth it?" I asked, jumping over a fallen log.  
  
"To them it was!" He laughed, startling a flock of birds above us as they took to the air noisily. "You see, this planet is rich in Tusonium... The lombaxes used it a long time ago as protective coatings for their ships before they developed their own synthetic coats which turned out to be cheaper to make and more durable than the natural stuff they were digging out of the ground. So the mining facilities they had on the planet were abandoned and, with the lombaxes exporting their new synthetic coat, no-one else was really interested in mining here any more. However, the mining facilities still stand."  
  
He said this last bit as he pushed aside a low growing sapling, stepping over it and holding it back for me to follow. I came to a stop once I did. The forest opened up to a large clearing before growing thick again on the other side. In the middle of it stood the remains of a very large structure. It was angular and arranged in almost box-shaped sections. Two large, pillar-like towers rose out of it, one of them supporting the half-cog shape I was starting to get use to seeing around lombax buildings. The other must have had the same at some point but it had broken and crumbled over time, leaving only the base.  
  
The various square levels that surrounded the towers fanned out, starting at some 5 storey buildings at its centre before shrinking gradually into small, single story units around its perimeter. More than a few of its roofs had fallen in and some walls had been damaged beyond any kind of repair. The yellow stone of the buildings were almost completely coated with green moss and ferns as the moist air carried the landscape's seeds to any surface that would give them an anchor to grow on. There were streets and alleyways crossing between the interconnected buildings and I could see the reflection of water from canals cut along some of the roads before they disappeared into grates underneath the streets. The place reminded me slightly of an insect hive, except lacking an organic feel to it. There was some kind of mechanical influence in how it was designed, although the moss and plant life were hiding its artificialness as best they could, as if the forest was ashamed of this place.  
  
"Nice, enh?" Max beamed at me. "The mines themselves are at the centre of the place but we won't be going down them. They've been abandoned for years and there's nothing to find. Just dark, abandoned tunnels full of cave-ins and deep pits. The buildings surrounding it is where it gets interesting. Most of these are where things were stored, as well as a few hangers for ships, places where they'd keep their exports and a few of them on the perimeter are living quarters."  
  
I nodded dumbly. There was a weight shift and I rocked on my heels a little as Clank unclipped himself from my back and dropped down, turning to stand beside me so he could get a look as well.  
  
"When the place was abandoned they took most of their things with them, but some of it was abandoned simply because it was far cheaper leaving it behind than trying to ship it back to Fastoon," Max went on as he started walking towards it. I followed closely as we crossed the facility's perimeter and started walking down one of its roads.  
  
"Of course, most of the heavy machinery has been removed by the Institute, but there should still be a few interesting odds and ends." He turned to smile at me expectingly. "Worth exploring, huh?"  
  
I smiled widely and gave a nod.  
  
Most of what had been left behind had either been picked clean by researchers, tourists and vullards but that didn't kill my enthusiasm. In a building that at one stage was an office I found an old desk that was still completely stocked with papers and charts. They were probably considered worthless by the institute and anyone scavenging tech, but I went through them anyway. Most of it was about exporting tax though, and I gave them to Clank instead, who seemed far more interested in them than he should've been.  
  
The hangars were empty of ships or tools, but there were a few scrap parts lying in piles around the wide open space. I spent some time trying to form a mental image around the parts of what kind of ship they would've come from and what practical purpose they served. The warehouses were still stocked high with mined Tusonium left by the miners, but other than that they didn't hold anything of interest. The other buildings of offices and houses had mostly furniture left. Once I discovered this I found myself exploring these the most, going through forgotten rooms with overturned chairs, beds with no mattresses or sheets, bookcases on their sides and empty and all kinds of business related graphs and records littering the floors.  
  
I was in one of these rooms near the end of the day after going through as many buildings as I could. The sun of this planet was starting to set and the long shadows of the trees were cooling the area rapidly as they hid the last rays from us. The room had been someone's living quarters. It had the steel frame of a bed in one corner along with a metallic desk, the top of which was covered in a clear material, underneath which gears and cogs lay silently in some nonsense pattern. It seemed to be just for show. There was a chair but it had been broken and lay decapitated in the middle of the floor, a good layer of dust covering it. Against a wall there was a small metallic closet and a chest with similar cogs and gears on its lid. Both were empty. The floor around the desk was littered with the same files and graphs as the others had been. Any electronic notepads or readouts would have been taken with when the owner of the room had left.  
  
I picked up one of the papers, causing dust to stream off it before clouding in the air. I coughed aggressively for a moment as it left the taste of silt and mould in my mouth. I looked over the paper I'd picked up once I managed to get myself under control again.  
  
It was a ledger of some kind by the looks of it. There were columns printed on the paper with numbers written in them, as well as something written in lombax script which meant nothing to me. Apart from the boring notes there was also something drawn in the margin. It was a crude doodle of someone with pointed ears and a striped tail hitting another person with similar features, except for having stripes on his face, over the head with what could only be a wrench. There was something written underneath it but I couldn't read it. I didn't need to though. I understood 'vent art' when I saw it. I laughed quietly to myself before I raised my eyes again and looked around the room once more.  
  
Someone had lived here and called it home, if only for a while. They went to work, did their job, got frustrated with their coworkers and bosses, had good days and bad days, slept, ate and existed here. And they did not die. Things changed, the work dried up and they left to live and work and exist somewhere else. There was no war, no genocide and no invasion that had driven them away. It was a normal life that was located here for a while.  
  
I sat down on the frame of the bed, looking over the ledger in my hands again. It wasn't an artifact. It wasn't a record or a piece of evidence to be researched and catalogued. It was someone's job. It was someone's day that they vented about because they'd felt annoyed and frustrated with someone else. It was a moment in someone's life. Some normal, every day person.  
  
Like me.  
  
I sat and stared at the page for a long time. Eventually the sky outside turned from orange to a cool blue. I put the paper down on the desk as I left.  
  
I met up with Clank and Max who were busy talking about the mine. Once we were together I got Clank on my back again and we returned to our ships.  
  
There was a Vullard rest station on a nearby asteroid that we decided to spend the night on. Or rather, our personal night, the rock had no official night of its own. Max wanted to take us to another planet called Tormidal when we woke up, saying there was a factory there that used to make ship parts.  
  
I followed him in Aphelion as he led the way to the rest station.  
  
"You are quiet," Clank said after a while.  
  
"Just thinking," I answered.  
  
Later, while we bunked down at the resting station, I lay on the pilot's seat in its reclined position staring out the cockpit window as I waited to fall asleep, feeling lonelier than I had in years.  
  
Eventually I sat up, opening the cockpit and getting out. I climbed over Aphelion and sat down on her rear thrusters, looking out at the expanse of space beyond the floating asteroid. The air was cool and windless. I could feel the fur on my arms and the back of my neck bristle slightly at the chill. The ship's metal was cold underneath me, the internal thrusters having cooled some time ago.  
  
A few minutes later I heard the cockpit open and the sound of metal on metal, followed by clicking footsteps coming towards me over the ship's back.  
  
"Can't you sleep?"  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"Are you alright?"  
  
I said nothing, unsure of how to answer.  
  
"...Do you want me to leave you alone?"  
  
I shook my head again. "No. You can stay."  
  
He walked closer and sat down beside me, following my gaze although I was sure he knew I wasn't looking at anything. We said nothing for a while.  
  
"Was this a bad idea?" Clank asked after what felt like an hour.  
  
"I don't know, but I don't think so," I said.  
  
"You seem unhappy." He turned to look at me instead.  
  
I sighed. "I'm not. Not exactly. I'm just... a little messed up."  
  
"This was not supposed to be an exercise in making you miserable," He said, clearly taking my response as an invitation to argue about this.  
  
I turned and gave him a disarming smile. "It'll be ok."  
  
He dropped his shoulders but didn't say anything in response.  
  
I was quiet for a while before I added; "Just... don't _you_ go anywhere, ok pal?"  
  
"I promised I wouldn't," He answered, and I believed him.  
  
After a while I got up and went back inside the ship, Clank following close behind me.


	10. Bloodwork

"Ok, now we're talking!" I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear as we walked through the giant doors of the derelict factory.  
  
Planet Tormidal, although maybe not as scenic as Francia, had better weather and as a result didn't feel as dismal to me. The planet's sun baked down warmly on a landscape made up of vast plains with occasional large, barrel-like trees that were more trunk than branches, and were overall green, sporting little to no leaves. The grass was more on the yellow side and grew chest-high on me. The air was dry but seemed to have an almost permanent breeze to it, taking away the direct burn from the sun. The factory Max had told me about could not have stood out more from the landscape. It was several storeys tall, metallic, and was a mixture of bronze and white in colour. It was also enormous, towering above the otherwise flat landscape.  
  
Its large doors leading to its primary hangar stood open, one of them fallen from its hinges and taking up most of the floor of the cavernous room. It seemed whatever ships were built at the place were exported or flown off-planet from this part of the building. At the back of the large room there were several conveyor belts rusted in place that led through large, circular holes in the walls. There were also intimidating looking cranes over-head, chains and cables as thick as my waist hung from iron rafters like vines, creaking in the wind pouring in through the open doors.  
  
The conveyor belts were covered with ship parts. I made a b-line for them, unconcerned whether or not Max had a history lesson on the place. I swooped down on the nearest piece of scrap metal and dragged it off the conveyor belt with an ear-splitting scrape that echoed all over the cave-like hangar.  
  
"Was that really necessary?" Clank complained as he walked over at a much more casual pace. I ignored him.  
  
"Check it out!" I said, circling the engine part as it was too heavy to turn in place without killing our eardrums further. "It looks a lot like the Triple-boost acceleration engine but it's got an extra chamber on it and it's gotta be like half the size of those things! Aw man, I can't image what kind of thrust this thing must've put out! I would've loved to pull this thing apart if it wasn't rusted solid! I could've given Aphelion some serious turbo if I knew how this thing was put together."  
  
There was a laugh as Max walked over. "I'm not sure how good an idea that would've been, kid, even if that thing was in perfect order. Anything coming through on the belt still needed to be configured by the mechanics in this hangar. As is, it could've blown up your whole ship."  
  
"I'm sure I would've worked out the kinks if I could've seen them," I said, trying to pry it open to see inside the piece of machine with little success.  
  
"Then I am rather relieved it is no longer in working condition," Clank said as he watched me, making no effort to help.  
  
"All these years and you still don't have any faith in me," I grinned at him before something else caught my eye on the conveyor belt and I got up to drag it closer. "Geez, I'd hate to see the cannon big enough to fire this thing!"  
  
"Please do not play with live ammunition, Ratchet," Clank groaned somewhere behind me.  
  
"Aw, give the kid a break." Max turned his ever-present grin on him. "Maybe he can find something in here that'll give _you_ some fire power, enh?"  
  
Clank gave him a dirty look.  
  
"Clank doesn't need firepower," I said dismissively. "He can look after himself fine. Check out this shield generator, will ya? I think it's energy cells still have some juice in them!"  
  
I won't lie, I got a kick out of this trip. After officially wearing out all the items in the hanger, I followed the conveyor belt into the next room through the circular opening. It led me to the end of an assembly line. The whole place smelled of sun-baked dust and iron that was flaking away to nothing and various other scents of mechanical decay, but it did nothing to sour my mood. Every room, hangar, and warehouse we inspected was still littered with ship-parts and various bits of engine. No tools, sadly, but more than enough stuff to keep me interested. Clank followed me around as I ran rampant around the facility, Max walking behind us at a leisurely pace, often disappearing as we ran ahead only to catch up several minutes later.  
  
"Why are there so many ship remains still here when most other sites have been scavenged, Mr. Apogee?" Clank asked when Max caught up with us at one point. He was busy helping me remove the outer casing on what looked like an incomplete Thanix cannon.  
  
"That's a bit of a tricky one to just recite off the top of my head," Max said as he walked over, happy to finally be giving some input. "It's something to do with legalities. After the Lombaxes left it wasn't clear who had rights to the technology left here since a lot of the ships that were manufactured at this place were for clients from other species. It was a big mess on who owned the rights to salvage parts and as far as I can remember, they still haven't managed to clear it up yet. Until they do, all this will have to wait here and rust."  
  
"Doesn't apply to me," I said happily as I finally managed to loosen the casing, pulling it off the gun and causing the build up of rust to crack and send up a reddish coloured cloud. I coughed, waving the air clear with a hand.  
  
"Oh?" Max raised an eyebrow at me with a smile.  
  
I shook my head. "It's a lombax facility, so technically it's mine. That's what you said about those artifacts, right?"  
  
"You might have to argue that in court, but I can't say you're wrong, boy," He laughed at me.  
  
Evening came too quickly and before I knew it, we were set to leave again. Max asked that I didn't take any ship parts with me in case it got him into trouble and I reluctantly agreed. I thought maybe I could contact the Polaris research of institute whatever and get some kind of claim going. When I mentioned this to Clank though, he started reciting several legal procedures that would be involved and I decided to give up on the idea. I'd just have to come back with a camera and take notes on location so I can build modified versions of the things myself.  
  
We found another rest station, this time on a nearby moon, and camped out there for the night. After getting something to eat the next morning, Max told me that there was a lombax ruin an hour or so away that'd been built as a tactical station during the end of the Great War, and that there might still be some weapon schematics hidden away somewhere on it.  
  
"I hope this place isn't tied up in red tape too," I said as I flew, eager for a repeat of the day before. "You remember the Alpha disruptor? If we find something like that again it's gonna make my whole week!"  
  
"Provided not all the weapons at the base have been taken by other people," Clank said, resting his feet against the dashboard.  
  
"Hey, I'm not picky. If we only find the schematics or blueprints to something I'll be happy."  
  
"And you are sure something like that would be lying out in the open for anyone to find?"  
  
"Hey, I got the magic touch remember?" I waved a hand at him with a wide smile. "No sweat."  
  
He shook his head at me but smiled back.  
  
We'd been flying for about half an hour when Aphelion's communications unit beeped. The hailing signature was that of Max's ship.  
  
"Hey Max, what's up?" I asked, flicking the screen on before focusing back on his ship flying a short distance ahead.  
  
"Hey kid, I just had a thought," His grin answered. "You know the base we're heading to? Well, I just remembered there's another one that's a little closer. It's not as big but it's better fortified. I was thinking about yesterday and if you really want to find something you can pick up and carry away, I think we'll have a better chance there."  
  
I gave a nod. "Roger that. Sounds good to me, but why weren't we headed there first?"  
  
"It just slipped my mind." His smile widened. "As I said, it's not as big or well documented, so I didn't think about it before."  
  
I smiled and gave a nod. "Alrighty. Send me the co-ordinance and I'll see you there. Ratchet out."  
  
Max gave a half-wave, half-salute jokingly and the screen clicked off. After a minute or so, co-ordinance were received and displayed on it instead, pointing us to the new location. I altered our course and started making for the new planet called Dorosa instead.  
  
"A rather spontaneous change of plan, don't you think?" Clank asked, sitting up straight in his seat.  
  
"Hey, anything that gives us results is fine by me," I smiled, adjusting my grip on Aphelion's steering wheel.  
  
"It is strange he would forget a location though, do you not agree?" Clank went on.  
  
"Pal. Ten years. Marooned. Remember?"  
  
"Yes, but is it not a little strange that he would remember all these other places as well as their histories in such detail but would forget about one of them entirely?"  
  
I gave a half-shrug. "Not really. Sometimes you forget stuff and then when you remember it, all these other details come flooding back to you. It's not like there's some kind of travel guide he can flip through to jog his memory, you know. He's gonna forget some things." I gave him a sideways look. "And since when are you so paranoid, by the way?"  
  
Clank made a thoughtful noise, crossing his arms and leaning back against the passenger's seat. "If I tell you something, do you promise not to tell anyone?"  
  
I gave a chuckle. "I'll try."  
  
He tapped the bolt on his elbow for a moment before he went on. "I do not think I like Mr. Apogee very much."  
  
"Wha? Really?" I turned to face him properly, honestly surprised by the confession. "Why not? I mean, sure he's a bit much at times, but he's not that bad, is he?"  
  
"It is not his exuberant nature that bothers me, it is more his treatment of others," Clank said, still keeping his arms crossed. "He seems very self-centred to me, as well as being out of touch with the emotional concerns of others."  
  
I shrugged again, turning to the front. "I'm gonna say it again. Stuck in a jungle for 10 years. That's a long time to learn some bad habits. Especially when there's no-one else around for you to worry about."  
  
Clank made another noise, sinking a little lower in his seat. "I am not saying he does not have his reasons. And I will admit that his reasons for being the way he is are very good ones. What I am saying is that I do not like the way he acts, regardless of why."  
  
"Harsh, Clank."  
  
"I am just letting you know how I feel towards the man," Clank said, something like a sulk in his voice.  
  
"Well, don't worry about it too much, ok?" I gave him a smile. "Talwyn comes home the day after tomorrow and then we'll be heading back to Luminopolis and to our own stuff."  
  
He gave a nod, straightening again. "I am looking forward to it. Maybe someone will be in need of our help when we get home. I could do with a bit of an adventure again."  
  
I laughed. "This doesn't count?"  
  
"Not really. We are not saving anyone."  
  
"We're also not getting shot at." I grinned.  
  
"Professional hazard." He shrugged at me.  
  
"Glad to see you're as insane as I am, pal."  
  
"It is a contagious characteristic."  
  
The planet Dorosa was another arid place, but in a different way to Tormidal. It was very barren, only small sections of its continents showing patches of green. The rest of it was a dull grey in colour and there were only small seas covering it, no oceans.  
  
We landed on a plateau which dropped sharply into a sheer cliff on one side. Just before the drop-off stood a clearly abandoned building. It had the same architectural style as the other places we'd visited. The same mixture of whites and steel with bronze coloured details of cogs and gears built into the walls. It looked a lot more intact than the other places though, and I wondered if the lack of moisture had anything to do with that. Then again, the ship factory was also on a dry planet and it had clear signs of exposure.  
  
"So, what is this place?" I asked Max as we walked down a damaged road towards it.  
  
"It's another military base set up during the end of the Great War," He explained as we walked. "Nothing major, but a few weapons and ships were kept here as one of the Lomaxes' back-ups if they were needed to defend passing ships or make a pick up of stranded soldiers. It was abandoned before the war was won, when this sector fell under Cragmite rule. The Cragmites knew of this place's location see, and when the rest of the Lombax strongholds in this sector were defeated this base was abandoned as its occupants fled back to Fastoon."  
  
I nodded as I listened, keeping my eyes on the building in front of me. "Was it ever attacked?"  
  
Max gave a chuckle. "Oh yes. But only on the principle of the thing. The Cragmites knew it was abandoned. They just wanted to make a point that the lombaxes shouldn't try coming back. That's why most of it's still standing."  
  
We walked through the wide front doors and into the lobby. It was a smaller room than I expected. On one side was a built-in desk behind a large pane of transparent material which had a radial crack from something physical that'd hit it very hard. It was dark inside with no windows to let light in besides the open front doors.  
  
"This way," Max motioned to me as he walked through the doors on the opposite end of the room and up a spiral staircase.  
  
At the top of the stairs there stretched a long hallway. The one side of its walls were covered in window panes, however the glass they once held coated the floor from one end all the way to the other. The other wall had a few doorways leading to other rooms. One or two of them were open but a few stood firmly shut with doors boasting the same cog and gear design.  
  
"Come on, kid! keep up!" Max waved me over on the other side of the hall. "And watch your step."  
  
I followed after him quickly. The layers of glass fragments cracked and tinkled under my boots as I gave quick glimpses into the open rooms I passed. Broken computer dashboards and a wasteland of lockers were all I could see.  
  
"This place feels rather ominous," Clank commented on my back as I walked.  
  
I gave a nod. "Yeah, no kidding."  
  
I caught up with Max and he led me to another staircase, this time spiralling downwards.  
  
"Where exactly are we going?" I asked as I trotted to keep up.  
  
"There some kind of safe-room further down," he explained. "If we're gonna find anything, it'll be in there."  
  
"Alright, if you say so. But this place kinda gives me the creeps."  
  
He chuckled. "It's no different from the last place we went to, boy."  
  
I said nothing, merely following him and telling myself I was being stupid.  
  
At the bottom we were met by another hallway. This one however had nothing to provide light and was completely dark. Max felt around on his belt and a circle of light appeared to let us see where we were going a short moment later. This hallway was a lot more intact than the first. Obviously the Cragmite attacks had not reached this far. It didn't make me feel any more relaxed, though. We'd merely gone from something that felt like a bombed out shell to something that felt like a tomb. I followed Max closely, gripping the handle of my wrench tightly. I kept my ears high, listening for any trace of a noise that stood out. Max, however, seemed completely unconcerned as he walked, not bothering to give the surrounding area even a passing glance.  
  
We walked further down the halls, turning around some corners and ignoring others. Max finally stopped in front of a large metal door.  
  
"Finally!" Max said. Even with nothing but his belt-mounted flashlight, I could make out the toothy grin. "Bit of a walk to get here but it'll be worth it, I'm sure!"  
  
"What is this exactly?" I asked, looking the door over again. It had large yellow lines painted across it as well as two or three words in Lombax script. Next to it was a wall mounted control panel with a flat screen attached to it. Cables ran from it into the wall itself.  
  
"That's the thing; we're not entirely sure," Max said, smiling widely at me. "But from layouts of other bases, we're pretty sure this is the armoury. Probably no chance of there being any working weapons in there, but if we're lucky it should still hold some tools and parts."  
  
"Wait. What do you mean you're not sure?" I turned to face him. "You've never opened it?"  
  
Max shrugged. "Can't. It's locked tight." He nodded towards the control panel meaningfully.  
  
I felt a slight tug on my back as Clank detached himself and dropped to the floor, turning to look at the control panel, then to Max, then me.  
  
"It's one of those genetic locks?" I asked, giving the panel a once over.  
  
Max chuckled. "Right you are! And that's good news for an explorer like me! It means no-one's been inside to swipe whatever's in there!"  
  
"And you said it's most likely the armoury?" I turned back to him.  
  
He gave me a nod. "So we think. This facility is small compared to some of the others dotted throughout the galaxy, but it most definitely had its own weapons storage. As I said, most of them will most likely have been removed but there's probably something useful in there. Or they just locked it and forgot to unlock it when they left." he gave a loud laugh at this. "But even if they did, I doubt there's any of those bombs you were worrying about in there."  
  
"Yeah... yeah you're probably right," I nodded, walking over to the panel.  
  
"Are you sure about this, Ratchet?" Clank asked as he watched me.  
  
I shrugged, taking off one of my gloves before pressing my palm against the panel. "Max has a point. Besides, if there is something dangerous in here it's probably better we find it and decide what to do with it than someone else, you know?"  
  
It took a few moments but eventually a faint light began to blink on the control panel, followed by an off-key beep. Something heavy sounding thudded on the other side of the wall and the door slowly started rolling itself upwards, a shower of dust raining down to the floor where it clouded up into the air. I covered my mouth and nose with an arm as I waited to see if it was safe to enter without the door falling back down on top of us. It eventually stopped moving and, with a metallic thud, came to a rest in the ceiling.  
  
The blow on my back was such a surprise I stumbled forward.  
  
"Well done lad! I guess your talent isn't just reserved for unlocking safety deposit boxes after all!"  
  
"Yeah, I guess not," I said, staring at the now open doorway. There appeared to be hooks lining the walls from what I could see, although they were empty. A workbench was in the middle of the room, littered with intricate tools and other mechanical parts and pieces. There wasn't anything that looked like a bomb.  
  
"Good job, kid," Max praised me as he walked in. "Pity I can't take you on all my excavations. You'd save me a heck of a lot of trouble!"  
  
"Hey, don't think I'm gonna let it become a habit." I gave him a smile. "You didn't tell me you were gonna wrangle me into unlocking doors for you."  
  
Max gave a shrug as he walked over to inspect the workbench. "I wasn't planning on coming here originally, as you know. But after I got the call this morning I thought I'd better use the opportunity to get this place open while you were still around."  
  
"What call?" I asked, picking up one of the tools on the workbench and inspecting it closely.  
  
Max gave a heavy sigh. "Bad stroke of luck, really. It was from the Institute. They were giving me an update on the genetic lock info we passed on to them."  
  
"Oh yeah?" I put the tool down, picking up the next one. "I'm guessing they didn't have good news for you."  
  
Clank jumped up onto the workbench before taking the tool I'd just put down and looking it over himself critically, holding it up to his eye level and looking down the length of it.  
  
Max shook his head, running a hand under his explorer's hat to scratch at his hair. "It seems those clever bastards the lombaxes had thought about other species trying the DNA sample trick and put in a measure against it. The boys at the lab said no matter what they did to the blood sample we sent their way, the lombax artifacts they have won't so much as twitch."  
  
"What blood sample?" Clank put the tool down, fixing his eyes on Max.  
  
"We sent them some stuff along with my notes," Max said simply, clearly not giving it much thought. "Anyway, after they called me I remembered this place and how it still had a locked door, and I wondered if you were as good with doors as you were with knick knacks and thought, 'well, it's as good a time as any to find out'." He gave me a wide grin.  
  
"You could've told me in advance." I gave him a sideways look.  
  
"I didn't want you saying no." He gave a loud laugh. "But I knew if you saw for yourself this place is harmless, you'd be onboard with the idea."  
  
" _What_ blood sample?" Clank said again, this time much louder.  
  
Both me and Max turned to blink at him. He had turned his gaze away from Max and was now glaring at me, demanding an answer. I gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing my arm with the puncture bruise absentmindedly as I put down the screwdriver I had picked up.  
  
"Remember when I said we'd given up on working on that lock?" He kept glaring. "Well, Max said that technically, if it's a 'genetic' lock I probably didn't need to be there physically for a scientist to work on it, we could just send them a DNA sample." I gave a shrug. "That's all it is really."  
  
His glare faded but he kept his stare fixed on me. I gave him an apologetic smile but it seemed to have little effect. He turned his gaze to Max instead, staring at him for a moment before looking back to me. He then turned back to Max and gave him a really loathing glare. He then turned, jumped down off the workbench and marched out of the room.  
  
"Oh geez. Clank, wait up!" I ran after him back down the dark hallway, leaving Max behind.


	11. Crossing the Line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be busy tomorrow, so I figured I'll post the next chapter now. You get an early update and then a wait until the day after tomorrow :)

"You can't give me the silent treatment forever, you know," I said, giving Clank a sideways glance as I followed Max's ship.  
  
He said nothing, glaring furiously ahead of himself, a trick I was sorry to say he'd learned from me.  
  
I gave a sigh. "C'mon, pal. I said I was sorry I didn't tell you about the blood thing. But it gave everyone what they wanted, and I still think it was a good idea."  
  
"Oh you do, do you?" His head spun around to give me an accusing glare.  
  
"Well yeah," I gave a shrug, keeping my hands on the wheel. "Max and I wouldn't need to work on the lock any more, but research would still be done on it and I'd still be helping Max without giving up my own time."  
  
"And you thought putting your genetic matrix in the hands of people you do not know, and can not monitor, was a good idea because of all this, did you?" He snapped.  
  
I gripped the wheel a little tighter. I could feel the rough texture of it through my gloves. "It's the Polaris government, Clank. I don't think they're gonna do anything weird with it. Besides, I made it pretty clear that if they started screwing around with it, I was gonna show up on their doorsteps with five different kinds of rocket launchers."  
  
"If you are so convinced that this was a good solution, then why did you not tell me that you had done this earlier?" He continued to glare at me, arms crossed tightly.  
  
"I didn't want you to be mad," I shot him a frown, "And you're not really proving me wrong, by the way."  
  
"And why did you think I would be mad?" His glare darkened.  
  
I adjusted my hands. My palms felt hot but I couldn't relax my grip any further. "I dunno," I mumbled.  
  
"That is not true." He kept his eyes on me. "Why would I be mad to hear you sent off a blood sample, Ratchet?"  
  
"I dunno!" I snapped. "You already told me you don't like Max, right? I dunno, maybe I was worried you were gonna be mad at him for getting me into something like this!"  
  
"Which I am!" He answered. "I am furious with him! But I am also angry at _you_ for allowing yourself to be used! Have you no sense of self-value at _all?!"_  
  
"It's not that big a deal, Clank." I glared ahead of myself again. "It just seemed like the best idea to make everyone happy."  
  
"But you can not always make everyone happy!" He continued to argue. "And I can not believe you would do something so potentially dangerous! What if someone somewhere comes across that biological sample and puts it to ill use? Who knows what they could do with it! Have you learned nothing from what happened with the Dimensionator?! I thought you understood the seriousness of such matters by now!"  
  
"Hey, don't you dare bring that up!" I twisted to face him again. "What the heck does that have to do with anything?! And what right do you have to tell me what to do with my own blood anyway?!"  
  
"I _thought_ I was your friend!"  
  
"You _are!"_ I yelled.  
  
"Then why did you not trust me enough to tell me about this?!"  
  
His accusation shut me up and I felt my ears flatten. I turned to glare out the cockpit again but I didn't answer him. We travelled the rest of the way in silence. I tried my best to stay mad, but whatever anger I had was being replaced more and more by guilt. 'Why didn't you just tell him, you idiot?!' the voice in my head yelled at me, directing all the anger I'd had earlier back onto myself. 'Why didn't you ask him about this before you did anything?! Why don't you ever listen to him?!'  
  
By the time we reached our next location I was in a very bad mood. I almost considered asking Max if Clank and I could just go home. I decided against this, though. This was the second last planet we were gonna visit and I was hoping with some fresh air and a little time Clank would settle down and maybe decide to forgive me.  
  
The next location wasn't a planet like I expected. Instead, a derelict space station came into view, first on my navigation screen and then visually through the cockpit window. It was huge, easily the size of a small city. It had a large central control station, circled by a hoop. Or what was once a hoop. The structure had heavy damage on one side and debris was still floating motionlessly beside the hole it'd come from. There were no signs of ships around and most of its windows were dark. It'd obviously been abandoned, and by the looks of the damage, not recently.  
  
I circled around and followed Max as he led me to a docking bay. We set down inside it and I did a quick atmosphere check. When Aphelion's readouts came back as breathable, I opened the cockpit to get out.  
  
"I'm gonna take the O2 mask, just in case," I said as I climbed out.  
  
"I am not going," Clank said in response.  
  
I looked up to stare at him. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Most definitely." He glowered at me. "I will stay in the ship until you return."  
  
My last nerve was being worked and I returned his expression. "Fine! Then stay here by yourself and sulk!"  
  
"Then I will!"  
  
We glared at each other for a few moments. Eventually I gave a huff, climbing down to the ground.  
  
"You... gimme a call on my nav-unit if anything comes up, ok?" I grumbled at him in defeat.  
  
He said nothing but broke eye-contact, fuming at Aphelion's dashboard as if it had insulted him. The cockpit closed and I sighed, pinching the corners of my eyes. I gave my head a shake and turned to walk towards Max's ship.  
  
 _"Do me one favour."_ The nav-unit on my chest flickered suddenly.  
  
"Oh yeah? What?" I answered stiffly.  
  
 _"...be careful."_  
  
I said nothing for a few minutes before I answered. "I'm sorry, pal."  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
"Hey, where's your robot?" Max asked when I came close enough.  
  
"He doesn't wanna come," I grumbled. "He's really mad at me for not telling him about the blood sample thing."  
  
Max scoffed at this as he turned to lead the way. "It's not really any of his business, is it? It's your DNA, you can do what you want with it. It's not like it affects him in any way. Don't really see what his problem is, to be honest."  
  
I made a passive noise that was neither agreeing nor disagreeing with him as I followed.  
  
'Why didn't I listen to him? Clank is right.' a memory floated back to me from almost two years ago. 'Clank is always right.'  
  
I gave another sigh. I was gonna have to make some phone calls once we left this station. I'm sure if I asked him, Clank would help me with the legal side of stopping them from using my DNA in further tests.  
  
We hadn't walked very far before my Nav-unit flashed again.  
  
 _"Wait..."_  
  
I stopped, tapping the button on my chest. "What's wrong?"  
  
There wasn't a reply but I heard Aphelion's cockpit open behind us. Turning around, I saw Clank running to catch up with us. He slowed down when he got close, although from the look he gave me it was clear he was still mad. I stared at him for a moment before I offered him a hand. He pulled a face but took it as I put him on my back.  
  
"You two all set?" Max cocked a brow at us.  
  
"I think so," I said, picking up the pace again  
  


* * *

  
  
"Soooo, what exactly is this place?" I asked as we walked through the halls.  
  
They were dark and Max had to use his belt-mounted flashlight. The air had a strange smell to it and it tasted stale. It made me feel like we were wading through it as we walked. Our footsteps echoed all along the steel passageways. Large circular doors lined the walls we passed, almost all of them accompanied by large sections of the wall covered in glass or something similar so you could see into the room beyond. Inside stood clinical looking desks and swivel chairs, as well as various computer consoles and screens. Now and then a room would also have some large, complicated looking machinery and steel shelves that stood mostly empty. Everything was still, as if it nothing had been moved in years. And it was cold. Not the wet cold of snow or rain but the dry, empty cold that came from space and seeped in through the steel and platinum of the station.  
  
"Refuelling station," Max answered as he walked ahead.  
  
"It's er... a little big for that, isn't it?" I sped up so I could walk beside him.  
  
"Well yeah, but a refuelling station is what the lombaxes told everyone it was." He turned to me with a smirk. "No-one had any proof they were lying, but then again what else could it be, right?"  
  
I wasn't sure what kind of response he was looking for. I didn't feel like trying to guess. "Ok but, what exactly are we doing here?"  
  
"What's the matter, kid?" He chuckled. "You're not interested in seeing what a Lombax space station looks like?"  
  
"No, it's not that." I turned to look through one of the glass walls as we passed it. Inside I could see a metallic slab, a large machine with prongs suspended above it. "It's just I don't really know what we could find here that'd be worthwhile."  
  
Max laughed. It bounced all around the metallic walls and ceiling, making the noise uncomfortable. "No sense of adventure, kid? From what I've heard you're suppose to be the type of guy to thrive on stuff like that."  
  
"Yeah, but I don't usually go looking for it. I'd rather relax until it decides to come find me instead," I argued. "Besides, walking around a station that's not in the best shape without anyone knowing where we are isn't the smartest thing I've done this week."  
  
Another chuckle. "And here I had you pegged as an archaeologist in the making! Son, if you're afraid to go places or to do things just because they seem dangerous, you're never gonna accomplish anything. If you want to discover something. you're gonna have to take a few risks. That's what Archaeology is, lad! It's going into the deepest, darkest pits there are, grabbing the most terrifying thing you can find and dragging it by the neck out into the light for the universe to see and study. No matter what mass grave, ancient prison, or mummified remains you find staring back at you in the dark."  
  
I felt the bristles stand up all along my spine and gave a shudder. "Can we change the subject?"  
  
Max burst out laughing again, "Alright alright. So I'm guessing your next question is gonna be what happened here, right?"  
  
I gave something like a shrug. "Judging by the track record? It's gonna be either Cragmites, the Great War, or both."  
  
"And you'd be right." Max almost literally flashed me a grin in the poor light. "Most people didn't really buy the whole 'refuelling station' story, least of all the Cragmites. They might've been a race of bloodthristy monsters but they weren't stupid. They didn't even bother trying to inspect the place first before they launched a surprise attack and bombed the main engines. Then they merely had to wait for the escape pods and ships to start leaving before they blew them to smithereens. Not that the lombaxes didn't put up a good fight of course, but the surprise attack and the superior numbers did the trick unfortunately. We're not sure how many lives were lost during the fight. Lombax and Cragmite records aren't the easiest things to find, you know."  
  
"Yeah, I kinda gathered." I nodded.  
  
As we walked deeper into the station I found myself getting more paranoid and twitchy. I was pretty sure it was just the little picture Max had decided to draw and colour for me with his talk, but something in my gut told me that something here wasn't right. I'm not exactly a person that gets spooked easily. I've clambered around haunted pirate ships in the darkest bowels of caves, but this was different. Something felt wrong, and I couldn't put my finger on what.  
  
We walked passed another room, Max's flashlight only making the most basic shapes visible and leaving the rest up to my imagination, which wasn't in the best place right now. I imagined dry skin wrapped around cold bodies, with leathery, eyeless faces gazing back at me from the dark somewhere. Faces that looked far too much like the one I saw in the mirror. I gave another shiver.  
  
"Your pulse is very rapid," A voice behind me said.  
  
I jumped, half-turning to look behind me before realising it was just Clank who'd spoken.  
  
"Sorry," He added when I relaxed.  
  
I frowned, partly in embarrassment as I turned back to the front. "Don't read my pulse, will ya? It's creepy."  
  
"Your heart beats against my back," He grumbled. "It is not something I can just stop feeling."  
  
"It's still creepy," I sped up again, not wanting to lose sight of Max's flashlight.  
  
"Well, forgive me for making an observation," he muttered to himself.  
  
"Max, how long are we gonna walk, exactly?" I said to the explorer instead. I wasn't in the mood to argue and I was already sick of this place.  
  
"We're almost there, kid, just relax." He gave me a look as if I was an impatient toddler on a shopping trip.  
  
"We're almost _where?"_ I asked, exasperated by the lack of a clear answer.  
  
"There's a part of the ship I want to check out while you're with me. I figured I could use some fresh eyes on it and see what your opinion is. Plus, some of your mechanic skills might come in handy. And before you ask no, I'm not gonna make you fix the whole station." He laughed again.  
  
I couldn't appreciate the humour, what little there was. I just followed him as we kept going. I was starting to lose my patience. After about 10 minutes of walking I was just about ready to tell him I was turning around and going back to the ship before he spoke, almost as if he'd anticipated what I was going to say.  
  
"Ah! Here we go!"  
  
He'd led us into a spacious room. Against one wall was a long computer console, on the opposite wall a very large, circular doorway sealed shut by two inter-linking doors. The rest of the room was empty, the two remaining walls bare apart from the doorway we'd walked through. The circular doors had red lines painted across them as well as more lombax script. Next to them were also two or three signs bolted to the wall that looked like caution signs or safety instructions.  
  
"What is this place?" I asked, hoping I wasn't gonna hate what I was about to hear.  
  
"We wanna get on the other side of this door." Max said, patting it with a hand as he grinned at me. "We've mostly been walking through the basic offices so far, but beyond this is where all the interesting stuff was done. The more er... mechanical things."  
  
"Another lock?" I asked, a light frown already forming on my face.  
  
He chuckled and waved his hands at me. "Don't give me that look, kid! And no, not this time." He walked to the other side of the room and placed a hand on the computer console. "No see, this one's just your regular, run of the mill security system. Trouble is, it had a few knocks when the place was attacked. Nothing to wedge the door shut it seems, but definitely enough to keep the damn thing shut. But I figured, if you're as good with machines as you say you are, you should be able to give it a few cranks and get it running again so we can get in."  
  
I sighed and rolled my eyes, walking over to the controls. "Alright alright. Lemme look. But this'd better be worth it, Max."  
  
"When have I ever let you down before, boy?" He grinned.  
  
"Oh, I dunno. When you made me unlock a unicycle?" I knelt down, searching the bottom of the console before finding a panel I could screw loose.  
  
"Hey, you were the one who said that was still worth something!" He waved a finger at me.  
  
"True," I nodded, pulling the panel off and putting it down before peering inside the hole. "But I'm not gonna be impressed if you've dragged me all this was just to check out a lombax bicycle or something."  
  
I felt Clank detach and turn to watch. Once he was off I lay down on my back, my head under the controls as I started going through the mess of wires and circuits in front of me. I pulled my gloves tighter and reached inside, setting to work.  
  
"You might wanna make sure there's air on the other side too," Max's voice said from somewhere above me. "You know. Just in case."  
  
"I would have to agree with that advice," Clank added.  
  
"Alright I got it," I grumbled, reconnecting two frayed wires and fixing them to a new circuit panel. "No backseat repairing, please."  
  
"Ok, but I don't really feel like breathing in a vacuum," Max's light-hearted voice replied.  
  
I ignored him, focusing on what I was doing instead. It was tricky work. Most of the controls were still intact, but I had to find ways to create bypasses for sections of it that had been damaged by what looked to be a major power surge. It was more delicate work than an engine or starship, but thankfully a few years of breaking into security compounds as well as breaking out of security compounds had taught me a thing or two about wiring. After about half an hour I heard the controls power up above me. When nothing sparked or melted, I climbed out and started looking over the controls. I wasn't familiar with the design, but it looked pretty straightforward. I got a screen in front of me turned on and put in some commands to bring up the stats for the room beyond the door.  
  
"Well, the good news is we got air on the other side," I said. I couldn't read the lombax characters but the bar showing the percentage was easy enough to understand.  
  
"And... the bad news?" Clank asked, walking closer.  
  
"What makes you think there'd be bad news?" I gave him a smirk.  
  
"There is always bad news," He gave me a sideways glance.  
  
"Yeah... well the bad news is the gravity generator seems to have been damaged. It should be ok, but it's gonna feel a little weird walking through there."  
  
"And the door?" Max pushed himself off the wall he'd been leaning against. "Can you get it open?"  
  
"I think so." I Put in a few more commands, finally getting to what looked like a command centre. "It's gotta be one of these. I just don't wanna flush out the air or something if I pick the wrong one."  
  
Max's hand landed on my shoulder, pressing down heavily as he leaned over me to read the screen. He pointed to a heading. "It's this one."  
  
"Right." I nodded, accessing it.  
  
A graphic that could only indicate a lock appeared. After some tinkering it went from red to green. Behind us there was a hiss and the sound of metal shifting. The doors slid away from each other. I was relieved to see there seemed to be something lighting the other side as the three of us walked towards it. Although as I got closer and could see more of the room, I stopped.  
  
Beyond the open door was what I could only describe as a wasteland. What the room had been originally I couldn't tell, but what was in front of me had been ripped apart. The floor had been torn out, as had the floor below it and the floor below that. Whole sections of wall were either completely missing or hanging semi-suspended in the air, the gravity too low to pull it down properly. Shreds of steel and wiring floated lazily past the doorway, disturbed by the movement of it opening. The light in the room came from the curved ceiling which was made of some transparent material I hoped wasn't glass. It stretched overhead to the far other side of the damage where I could see the floor resuming again into another dark tunnel of a hallway and further into the station. Whatever the transparent material was, it had cracks running along it. The air was still and breathable though, indicating that somehow, nothing had cracked between us and the void of space outside.  
  
I took a deep breath, pulling myself together. "Sorry, Max. Looks like a dead-end."  
  
"Oh nonsense." He walked passed me, looking over the edge of the missing floor to the decks somewhere far below.  
  
"Excuse me?" I followed, coming to a stop beside him. "Max, we're not gonna get across this thing."  
  
He laughed at me, looking up to the various debris floating ahead of us. "Oh sure, if you're looking for a nice footpath. You don't always get your way with exploring, kid. Sure, it'll take us a little longer but we'll get across. Last time I was here we had to go the other way around to reach that part of the ship and lemme tell you, that wasn't exactly the easiest thing to do either! Of course, we had a good team with us at the time, but with the two of us we're just gonna have to improvise with what we got."  
  
I stared at him wide-eyed, not believing what I was hearing. "You can't be serious. Max, we can't get across this thing! Oh, ok sure, we probably can if you wanna be technical about it, but I don't really feel like breaking my neck today!"  
  
He turned his gaze to me, the smile fading. "There's no other way to that side, kid. With no team and no equipment? It's either this or nothing."  
  
"What exactly is so important that side that you wanna get to?" I frowned at him.  
  
"Aw, well now you're asking me to spoil the surprise." The grin returned but I was in no mood.  
  
"I mean it, Max. What are you so eager to get to you're willing to do something stupid like try and get across a gaping void with a compromised hull?"  
  
The grin faded again, this time replaced with a light frown of his own. "Well if you're gonna be difficult, I might as well tell you." He turned to face me head-on. "When I was here about 12 years ago we came across a passageway leading to the control hub in the centre of the station. The hub seems to have escaped most of the damage, although how exactly it managed that we're not sure. The popular theory goes there's some kind of shield generator that protected it. I told you not many records exist of what exactly happened here, but one thing we do know is that when the station's engines were taken out, those in the control hub did all they could to keep the station from falling apart and occupied the Cragmite's time with their turrets, giving a few of the other ships time to flee. Of course, this meant those in the hub had no way to escape themselves. However, from our research we know they managed to ward off direct Cragmite fire as well as prevent any invading parties from setting foot in the hub itself."  
  
I felt my frown deepened with a mixture of horror and fascination. "They died?"  
  
Max gave a mirthless laugh. "It was war, kid. People die. You of all people should know that."  
  
The remark stung and I felt my expression harden.  
  
"Anyway, there was a very good reason no Cragmites could get into the hub. It was locked, which is also why none of my original research team could get in either." He dipped his head slightly, his eyes focusing on me again in that way that made me feel like he was trying to drill holes in me. "But... with you here-"  
  
"Oh no!" I put up my hands. "No! No way!"  
  
He gave something between a scoff and a laugh. "Oh come on, son. Surely you're not gonna let some old battle story from 40 years ago spook you?"  
  
I gave him a hard, definite stare. "I'm not going through there. And even if I did, I'm not opening that door, Max."  
  
Whatever amusement had been left on his face disappeared and the start of a glare could be seen in the corner of his eyes. "Ratchet, be reasonable. Do you know what we could learn from that place?"  
  
"I don't care." I glared right back. "I am not gonna cross a potential death trap and then open a door to a tomb just to satisfy your curiosity. I'm sorry Max, I really am. But no. I'm not doing it."  
  
His eyes hardened and I started feeling like I was talking with a different person, someone I didn't know and who had no room for humour or laughter in him. "My curiosity. You really think it's something as simple and selfish as that?"  
  
"Ok then; the field of Lombax research! The combined scientific knowledge of Polaris! The historical records of the galaxy! Whatever you want it for, I don't care! I'm not gonna do it, Max."  
  
"You realise that if you don't, no-one is going to be able to see what's inside that thing. Ever." The tone was quiet, but had a dangerous lining to it.  
  
"Maybe that's just how it's gotta be, then," I said, refusing to back down.  
  
"And you don't feel at all responsible?" Max went on, his eyes narrowing. "You have no problems just walking away from this and leaving the rest of the galaxy to forever wonder what kind of advances could've been made if you'd only put your hesitation aside and unlocked a door?"  
  
"I am not your personal lockpick Max!" I burst out. "Look, I didn't mind helping you out with stuff, I really didn't. But You can't make me unlock a door that I _know_ is only gonna lead to more dead consoles, broken machines, and old bones! Especially if you're willing to drag both me and yourself across a giant gaping hole with a viewing station that looks like it's gonna shatter if any of this debris so much as taps it! There's taking a few risks and then there's having a death wish! And frankly, I don't think a derelict space station is worth risking my neck over and it shouldn't be worth your's either!"  
  
Max said nothing when I finished my rant. He just glared at me with hard, dark eyes. His hands were gripped tightly into fists the size of my head. His mouth was drawn tight. He stood silently, as if he was made of stone as he glared down at me with what almost looked like disdain. I expected him to be angry, or disappointed, but instead he glared at me with an emotion I couldn't quite place. It was cold, and it was scornful. Minutes dragged by and I stared back up at him, refusing to break eye contact.  
  
"That is your decision then, is it?" He said with a soft voice, although the low volume did nothing to rob it of its venom.  
  
"It is," I said, no hint of doubt in my voice.  
  
He said nothing in response, he merely continued to stare down at me. He held me in his gaze for a while longer before he finally turned away, looking out over the destruction in front of us, folding his hands behind his back. His shoulders still held high, his frown dark. I watched him for a few minutes before I turned, walking through the door and back the way we'd come.  
  
"C'mon, pal," I said to Clank as I went, "Let's get outta here."  
  
I didn't look to see if he was following, but I heard the metallic click of his footsteps as he jogged after me.  
  
The walk back through the dark was difficult, but I had a good mental compass and managed to backtrack. I glared ahead of myself, not giving anything we passed even a sideways glance as I marched. It felt like someone had lit a fire in my stomach and it was currently burning my insides to a crisp. Frustration, confusion, and an underlying sense of betrayal. I buried the last one with anger instead. Anger for what he'd asked me to do, anger for his lack of concern for anyone's safety, including his own, anger for his obsession, anger for bringing me to such a terrible place. I wanted to get away. I wanted to get as far away from this station, and Max, and the control hub as I could. How could he ask me to do this?! How could he ask me to open a door that I knew led to... to something I didn't even want to picture?! How could he try to make me face that?! Didn't he care?! Did he care about how this affected me at all?! Oh and let's not even get started on crossing a gaping hole in the ground! Oh sure, I probably could've crossed it if I put in the effort, but why would I?! What'd be the point?! So I could break an arm when I misjudged a jump due to the low gravity?! So I could fall to a lower deck and get lost?! So we could damage the viewport and get sucked into space?! And for what?! To open a door to a crypt?! How could he _do_ this to me?!  
  
"Ratchet!" The call was a few paces behind me and I realised I was walking too fast for Clank to keep up.  
  
I came to a stop, listening to him catch up as I fumed to myself. He came to stand beside me and I could tell he was watching my face, trying to read my expression in the darkness, although I had no doubt his vision was better than mine in the low light. I said nothing to him, I didn't even look at him, but I held out my hand and felt him take it. I slung him onto my back, making sure he was in place before I fell back into pace.  
  
"...I am proud of you," Came a rather quiet voice from my back.  
  
I bit down on my tongue but didn't reply, speeding up a little bit. There was silence for a while as I walked, the only noise coming from my boots on the metallic floor.  
  
"Are we going home?" Clank asked eventually.  
  
I shook him head tightly. "We need to have a talk with Talwyn first."  
  
"She is not home yet," Clank pointed out.  
  
"Then we're gonna give her a call, but one way or another we're gonna have a talk."  
  
There was another long pause as I kept going, although my energy was draining and I was starting to slow to a more normal pace, a frown still hard on my face. It remained where it was until Clank spoke again.  
  
"I am sorry I accused you of taking these things too lightly."  
  
My frown eased a little and I felt my fists relax.  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the DNA thing."  
  
"It is alright."  
  
"Yeah," I gave a nod, "and thanks, pal."  
  
"You are welcome, but for what exactly?"  
  
"Looking out for me, even when I'm being an idiot."  
  
"I find that those are the times one most needs someone else to watch their back," He replied.  
  
I wanted to reply with something but I couldn't think of anything that didn't sound awkward or stupid. I focused on finding my way back to Aphelion instead, as well as trying to figure out how I was gonna explain to Tal what'd just happened between me and her father.


	12. Max's Request

The trip back to Apogee Space Station was quiet, but it gave me a chance to calm down and think a little more clearly. I dunno when or how it happened, but it was becoming obvious that Max really wasn't as fine as he was telling everyone he was. I dunno if it was because of his isolation for so many years, or if it was something that'd been sparked when he met me, but I could worry about that later. Right now, it was clear that Talwyn had to be told. It wasn't a conversation I was gonna enjoy having, but it needed to be done, before Max got home and made things difficult while I was trying to talk to his daughter.  
  
I pushed the thrusters hard, anxious to get to the station as fast as I could. I wasn't sure what I was racing against, but I didn't care. The slight G-force when I changed speeds and adjusted the thrusters made me feel better. It was old. Familiar. Something I had a clear grip on. It was something I was good at. We arrived back at the space station in almost half the time it would've normally taken me.  
  
I gave Aphelion's dashboard a pat as I opened the cockpit. "Sorry, girl. I'll make it up to you before we leave."  
  
 _"I will hold you to that."_ She replied with something like irritation.  
  
"What exactly are you planning to tell Talwyn when you call her?" Clank asked as he watched me hop out the ship.  
  
"I don't know. I'll think of something," I said, dusting my hands off as I stood up again.  
  
"I suggest whatever you decide to say, you choose your words carefully," He followed me, dropping down the side of the ship to the floor. "I understand your annoyance with Max but you must remember, he is still her father. Even if what you say is true, she will not listen to you assassinate his character."  
  
"You're probably right, yeah." I ran a hand over my face, feeling worn out by all this. "She might not listen to us at all, no matter how much we sugar coat it."  
  
"We will explain it calmly, and logically," Clank added as he started to walk towards the elevator. "Talwyn knows that we would not make up meaningless slander. She trusts us. I know she trusts me and her trust in you is not even worth putting into question."  
  
"This is asking her to trust her friends over her family, though," I said as I followed.  
  
"Personally, I fail to see the difference," Clank said with such a plain tone of voice he couldn't be anything but serious.  
  
I laughed at him. But it was short lived as something caught my eye just as we were about to take the elevator to the atrium. I groaned.  
  
"Whatever we decide to say, we're gonna have to decide fast." I nodded towards the extra ship parked in its usual spot. "Tal's home early."  
  
We rode the elevator up in silence, my insides churning. It came to a stop at the atrium and we exited, walking along one of the stone paths through the low growing trees and shrubs of the garden. We crossed the cluttered entranceway and up the stairs to the main living area. I could hear voices floating down from somewhere ahead.  
  
"Luminopolis was lookin' a little swankier than I remember it."  
  
"We were visitn' Meridian City, ya old coot! Luminopolis is on the other side of the planet! Them politicians are much pudgier in Meridian than Luminopolis! Must be all them imported lunches we always hear them complainin' they're wastin' the people's money on."  
  
"Hello?" I called once I'd reached the top of the stairs.  
  
Two metallic heads leaned out of the kitchen to see who was there before they yelled greetings back at me.  
  
"Hey! The rookies are back! Ya must be psychic! We jez got back ourselves from Igliak! Coulda given you a ride home if you'd asked sooner!"  
  
"No no no! They were out with Mr. Apogee, remember?!" Kronk gave his partner a look.  
  
"Where is he anyway? Draggin' a new find off the ship?"  
  
"Not exactly. He's still out." I tried to look past them. "Is Talwyn around? I need to talk to her about something."  
  
"She went down to the armoury. Said somethin' about stress relief. Those government types can take it out of ya!" Zephyr gave an ancient chuckle.  
  
"Fantastic," I sighed, heading towards it.  
  
"Tell her dinner will be ready as soon as we fix the oven!" Zephyr yelled, waving a wooden spoon after me.  
  
"The oven's broken?" Kronk turned to him.  
  
"Well... not yet but..."  
  
I left them to it, putting my hands in my pockets as I walked, hoping Talwyn had worked out some of her frustration on the targets before I got there.  
  
The sound of gunfire could be heard well before I reached the armoury. I felt a little better when I recognised it as a blaster and not something more heavy duty. It meant she wasn't as cranky as she could've been after dealing with Qwark for a few days. I still knocked on the doorframe as I entered, although I doubted she'd be able to hear over her fire.  
  
I waited until she'd emptied her clip before I spoke, not feeling it was the best idea to startle someone with a loaded weapon. "Hey Tal. You're back early."  
  
She turned and broke into a smile when she saw me. "Oh, hey Ratchet! Hi Clank. Same could be said for you! I thought you were only coming back tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah well... we had a change of plans," I said, tugging on one of my gloves.  
  
"Where's dad?" She asked as she went over to the workbench to reload her weapon. "He didn't bring back any more junk, did he? We're running out of room."  
  
"No, he's actually still out, although he's probably on his way back too."  
  
She stopped, looking up again. "You left him out there alone?"  
  
"Yeah... uhm..." I fiddled with the strap across my chest. "Yeah we had a... bit of a disagreement."  
  
"What kind of disagreement?" She frowned lightly, putting her gun down.  
  
I gave a sharp sigh. If I was gonna talk about this I just had to take the plunge and tell her everything. Tap-dancing around the issue wasn't gonna help anyone and would probably just annoy her.  
  
"Look, I think we need to talk."  
  
Her frown stayed but she gave a nod. "Ok. I'm listening."  
  
My eyes darted to the weapon. "Could we do it in the living room instead?"  
  
She rolled her eyes but started to walk out the room. Clank and I followed her.  
  
"So what's this about?" She asked as she went. "Why did you fight?"  
  
"Well, I was trying to tell him he was starting to get too risky out there," I started.  
  
"You were telling him _he_ was being too risky?" She shot me a look and a smile. I didn't return it.  
  
"Tal... he took me to a space-station that was falling apart because he wanted me to unlock a door. Only to get there, he wanted us to cross this giant structural hole. I told him it was dangerous and stupid, but he didn't seem to think it was a problem."  
  
"You didn't cross it did you?" She stopped in her tracks, spinning to stare at me with horror. I shook my head quickly.  
  
"No! No, of course not! Tal, you know me! I only do suicide missions when there's actually a good reason for them!"  
  
"And my dad didn't have a good reason?" She frowned again lightly.  
  
I made a noise, scratching at the back of my neck. "He wanted me to unlock the door to the control centre of the place."  
  
"Why?" She gave something like a shrug. "What's so important in there?"  
  
"That's the thing. He didn't _know_ if there was something important. He just wanted it opened because he's never been able to get inside before."  
  
"And I'm guessing you said no." She crossed her arms.  
  
"Tal, people died in there." I gave a huff, locking my hands behind my head as I stared at a spot on the floor. "I just... I didn't wanna face that."  
  
"And since when are you scared of a few skeletons?" Her frown deepened as if she was accusing me of something.  
  
"I'm not! I just... Look, these weren't just some weird species that came from some far away planet, ok? They were.." I made juggling motions with my hands, trying to find the right words. "It was a lombax station and I didn't wanna-"  
  
"Oh _now_ I get it!" She interrupted. "You didn't want to open the door because you have some kind of hang up and now you're trying to paint my dad as the bad guy in the situation!"  
  
"What? No! Talwyn, that's not it!"  
  
"I can't believe you." She shook her head, turning to walk again. I followed after her, determined not to drop the subject until she listened. "Ratchet, I know you've got some faults but being a coward was never something I thought I'd accuse you of."  
  
"Hey! I didn't fight with him because of some personal issue, ok?!" I snapped a little louder than I meant. "Look, even if I was perfectly fine with opening the place I still didn't think it was worth trying to cross a space station that had a giant chunk of it missing! But your dad was talking as if it was no big deal, while the ceiling above us had _cracks_ in it! Do you understand what I'm saying?"  
  
"No! I'm not sure I do." She whirled around to face me again. "Are you saying my dad would willingly put people in danger for some... treasure hunt?!"  
  
"Yes!" I said with exasperation. "That's exactly what I'm saying!"  
  
Her mouth opened but she said nothing, her frown deepening as she stared at me in disbelief. I put my fingers to my temples for a brief second.  
  
"Ok, listen to me, Tal. Just... just _listen_ ok. Your dad's a great guy. He really is. But he's taking this explorer thing to a whole 'nother extreme! I dunno what's gotten into him but you gotta talk to him or something because this isn't healthy!"  
  
"Oh and suddenly you're the picture of sanity?" She gave me a dirty look.  
  
I slapped my hands against myself with a puff of breath. "Talwyn would you stop trying to make me the asshole here and listen?! The guy is taking things too far!"  
  
"Tell her about the blood sample," Clank interrupted, taking a step or two forward to include himself in the argument.  
  
"What blood sample?" She turned to frown at him instead. "Whose blood?"  
  
"Mine. Actually." I rubbed my forehead with a finger and thumb. "But that's not really part of the problem."  
  
"No no," She raised a hand, turning her head to the side slightly as she frowned at me, more in confusion than anger. "I wanna hear this."  
  
I gave a drawn out sigh. "Ok... Well, what happened was, when I told Max that we were getting ourselves obsessed with the genetic lock, he felt we could still send his notes to the guys he works with so they could keep running with it. Thing is, because I was here, there wasn't really much those guys could do that other people haven't tried in the past. They still needed some kind of DNA to work with. So your dad talked me into giving a... donation."  
  
She gave me a hard stare. "Blood." I nodded, giving her an embarrassed smile but it didn't affect her expression at all. "And how exactly did you guys go about getting that?"  
  
I gave a shrug, dropping my gaze again. "I dunno. He had something to draw it with and said he knew what he was doing. He took it from my arm, wrapped it up and sent it off."  
  
"Why does Mr. Apogee have instruments for blood-drawing?" Clank asked with a slight bitterness to his voice.  
  
Talwyn gave a sigh, rubbing her eyes a little too hard. "It's used to take blood samples from newly discovered animals." She gave her head a slight shake, turning back to me. "And he was the one who suggested this?"  
  
I nodded. "For all the good it did. Turns out his science buddies couldn't do anything with it."  
  
"And it was after he was told this that Max started taking more unnecessary risks," Clank added.  
  
"Ok look," Talwyn raised both her hands to silence us. "Let's say, I give you guys the benefit of the doubt that things got a little out of hand out there. I still think there's gotta be an explanation for why dad was doing these things. I'm not saying I don't believe you, I just wanna hear his side of the story."  
  
"Well great," I crossed my arms, "You can ask him about that when he gets back."  
  
"It'd be better if we both ask him." She gave me a deep stare. "I really think this is something we all need to talk about together."  
  
"Honestly, Tal? I don't think he's really gonna wanna talk to me." I pulled a face and gave a small shrug.  
  
"Ratchet," She said with a soft sigh, stepping a little closer to me. "I know you're mad at each other but... could we just talk about this together? If you're right and daddy is acting recklessly then that's fine, but I don't want you to go home before we can sort this out."  
  
I gave an exhale, frowning thoughtfully at nothing in particular.  
  
Her face softened. "Please. I don't want my father and one of my closest friends to start hating each other, especially if we could've worked it all out if we'd taken the time. Just stay the night until he gets home. Then we can all sit down and discuss this calmly like adults."  
  
I said nothing, although I ran the idea over in my head. She put her hands on my shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze.  
  
"Please?"  
  
I sighed, uncrossing my arms and slumping. "Alright, alright. But you know I wouldn't tell you this screwed up story if I didn't have a reason, right?"  
  
She gave me a smile and a nod. "Thank you."  
  
I nodded, dropping my gaze again. "Yeah. No problem."  
  
She let me go, combing her fingers through her hair as she stared at the floor, thinking hard to herself. "Ok. I'm gonna give him a call and ask him when he plans to get back. Tell Kronk and Zephyr to get some food going for you as well."  
  
I nodded. "I need to fill Aphelion up on fuel too."  
  
She nodded back. "Alright. And thanks... again."  
  
I finally managed a smile. "It's gonna be ok, Tal."  
  
She gave a disbelieving laugh. "Yeah, I hope so."  
  
The rest of the evening went a lot better. We sat in the living room as we ate and Clank and I gave Talwyn, Kronk and Zephyr a replay of what we did before we visited the decrepit station. I probably went on about the ship factory a little longer than I should've, because eventually the two older robots fell asleep. Talwyn seemed interested but I wasn't sure if it was because she was trying to be nice, or if she really wanted to hear the difference between engine types and the size of ship cannons. Whatever her reasons though, our stories lightened the mood. When she gave us her own retelling of what it had been like to try and talk about Galactic laws with Captain Qwark we gave ourselves cramps laughing about it. When she informed us that Skrunch the monkey had gotten a promotion since last we'd heard I almost collapsed a lung.  
  
It got late and we decided to call it a night. The evening had lifted my spirits and I felt better, despite the day we'd had. Talwyn was obviously nervous about tomorrow when Max was scheduled to get home, but I once again reassured her that it would be alright. Besides, I agreed with her that if we sat down and talked it out, we could probably work through this. Max was a little overwhelming, and more obsessed with his work than what was healthy, but he wasn't a bad person. I knew this. I didn't want to make an enemy out of him any more than Talwyn did.  
  
I was surprisingly tired that night and fell asleep easily, although I had a lot of unpleasant dreams. Not so bad that I could call them nightmares, but still unpleasant and disturbing. Dreams about space stations exploding into flames, being lost in a dark maze with other people who turned out to be dead, and doors that locked me out of rooms I needed to get in to.  
  
"Ratchet."  
  
I mumbled in confusion as I rolled over, looking up at the person who'd said my name only to be shushed hurriedly.  
  
"Quiet, boy! I don't want to wake up anyone else."  
  
I moved to sit up, rubbing at my eyes as my brain tried to piece itself together. "Max? What're you doin'-?"  
  
"Shhh." He put his finger to his mouth, looking around the room nervously.  
  
I frowned, waking up properly. "What's going on, Max?" I whispered back.  
  
He stared out my room door for a moment before he turned his eyes back to me. They were wide and anxious. "I need your help, kid. I... I think I really screwed up."  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?" I sat up properly, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.  
  
"It'll take too long to explain. I just... I really need you to help me with this," He said, giving the doorway another nervous glance.  
  
I frowned. "Should we wake up Talwyn?"  
  
"No!" He said urgently. "No, I don't want Talwyn or Kronk or Clank or anyone else to know! Please Ratchet, I just need you to help me with this thing."  
  
"What thing?" I got up. "What happened?"  
  
"It'll take too long to explain. Just follow me, quickly! And keep it down!" He hurried out the room, turning to make sure I was following.  
  
I stood in the middle of my room, looking around at my shirt and other pieces of clothing lying scattered around. "Should I-?"  
  
"There's no time!" He hissed. "Just hurry up!"  
  
I nodded, trotting after him quickly.  
  
We made our way down the stairs and through the atrium to the elevator. Max was drumming his fingers against the control panel.  
  
"C'mon c'mon c'mon!" He muttered under his breath.  
  
"Max, what's going on? What happened?" I asked, able to raise my voice now we were away from the sleeping quarters.  
  
He gave a deep sigh, shaking his head to himself. "You... you're just gonna have to see it for yourself, kid. Otherwise there's no way you're gonna believe me."  
  
"Believe you about _what?"_ I implored.  
  
He shook his head again as the elevator stopped and he led me out into the docking bay towards his ship. "I'll open the side-door and you take it from the left. I'll help you pull it out and we should be able to carry it back up together."  
  
I frowned but gave a nod. "Ok. But will I be able to lift it if you can't?"  
  
"I can take most of the weight, I just need you for that little bit extra," He said, his eyes glued to the ship.  
  
"And... are you gonna tell me what it is?" I asked as he came to a stop in front of his ship and unlocked it, pulling back the sliding side door.  
  
"You're just gonna have to see it for yourself," He muttered, stepping back. "Ok, get in there and grab it, I'll help you pull it out when you've got a firm grip."  
  
I nodded as I leaned into the side-door, looking around to see what the heck Max could've dragged back that would get him so worked up. My imagination, fuelled by my bad dreams, was giving all kinds of horrible suggestions but I ignored it. I couldn't see anything at first and leaned in further, climbing up onto the backseat.  
  
A deep crack of pain burst against the back of my skull, causing my vision to flash white before stars exploded in front of me. The world gave a sickening lurch before everything melted into blackness.


	13. Shanghaid

My head felt like it'd been split open.  
  
I blinked several times. It remained dark. Eyes open or closed, it made no difference.  
  
I realised I was shivering. It was cold. Very cold.  
  
I shifted despite my pounding head. I tried to sit up but couldn't. There wasn't enough room.  
  
Where was I? What was going on? What'd happened? I tried to get my thoughts back in order. Tried to piece things together.  
  
I'd been with Max in the docking bay. He'd asked me to help him unload something from his ship. I'd felt a hard blow to the back of the head and then, nothing.  
  
Ok. Not the most promising start but it was a start at least. Ok, someone had knocked me out, obviously. And put me here, wherever this was. My head was killing me. That could only be from the blow. What else? What else was wrong?  
  
I shifted again, my thoughts clearing up as I managed to make more sense of things. I couldn't sit up because I was trapped in something. I tried to move a hand to check myself and make sure I wasn't hurt anywhere else, but something stopped me. My hands were stuck. I swore under my breath, feeling around my wrist with my other hand. They were bound behind my back. There was only one very thin line tying them together but it felt hard and dug into me painfully when I pulled too hard. 'Zip-cuffs', my brain offered.  
  
Ok. So trapped in a box with my hands tied. What else? Well, the plastic from the cuffs were cutting into my wrists, so I wasn't wearing my gloves. I could feel the steel floor against my shoulder and chest so no shirt and more importantly, no harness. That meant no nav-unit and no way to communicate with any-one. Crap. Also no helmet, no shoes and most importantly, no wrench. The only thing I had on me were my pants and I'd emptied its pockets before going to bed.  
  
Ok, next. The box I was in was freezing cold. I was shivering and it felt like I'd been shivering for a while. The bottom, top, and sides were made of metal. It had a lot of room length and width wise, but not a lot of height. There was nothing else in it besides me.  
  
I lay still, pricking my ears as I tried to listen for any sounds from the outside. I realised there was a low throb that I could feel running through the entire thing I was in and when I listened, I could pick up a soft rumble from somewhere behind my back. It was the only wall of the box that was warmer than the others.  
  
The realisation hit me hard as I put it all together.  
  
Oh God. I was in the trunk of a ship.  
  
I could feel a sense of panic starting to set in. Behind the steel in front of me there was the vast, empty vacuum of space. The trunk of a starship was not designed to have proper life support. The temperature was very low, not as much as the void outside, but cold enough to be uncomfortable. I wormed my way closer to the wall which was warmer than the others. The thrusters. It had to be near the ship's thrusters which heated it up slightly. I curled my legs against my chest, wrapping my tail around myself to keep any warmth I had.  
  
How did I get here? Yeah ok, blow to the head. But how did I get _here?_ Who'd hit me? I'd been so focused on Max and why he was so worked up I wasn't aware of anyone else being in the docking bay. Oh crap! Were the others ok?! What if whoever'd hit me... I dunno... did something to them? Where was Max? Why was I the only one in this trunk?  
  
Unless...  
  
No. No he wouldn't. That's crazy. Max would never _do_ that! But he was the only one there... But he wouldn't! What reason could he possibly have for knocking me out and stuffing me in here?! It made no sense! We'd had a fight but we were still on ok terms, I thought. And why feed me some bullshit story and then do something like this? It made no sense! It just made no sense.  
  
But I couldn't focus on that right now. I needed to think of what I was gonna do. Trying to get out of the trunk was complete suicide. Even if the ship landed and I managed to get out, I could be walking out onto a toxic planet, or an asteroid without an atmosphere, or somewhere that you needed protective clothing for. I had no choice but to wait until whoever had grabbed me let me out. Ok, so then what? I was completely unarmed. I cursed myself for not taking the two seconds to grab my wrench when I left my room. Without any weapons I was gonna have to act carefully. Best option was to do whatever the person wanted and bide my time until I could get away. If I had one thing going for me, it was that I was fast, and I was flexible. Depending on what the landscape looked like, I could probably either find somewhere to hide or just make a break for it and hopefully not get a laser blast in the back.  
  
It wasn't much of a plan. It wasn't even worth calling it a plan. I needed to know more about who'd locked me in here and where we were going before I could figure out something better. So I lay and waited.  
  
The trip didn't take as long as I was expecting it to. About an hour, at most. Hopefully whoever'd grabbed me was stupid and we weren't very far from the Apogee Space Station. The other option was that I'd been out for longer than I would've liked. Whatever the reason, I felt the change in speed as the thrusters adjusted and there was a brief moment of vertigo as the internal gravity shifted to compensate for the change of speed. About 15 minutes later I felt the ship touch down and the engines slow before shutting down.  
  
I waited, tensing up. I hoped whoever it was was gonna let me out before they did anything else. There was no cushioning in the trunk and I was sure I was gonna be bruised when I finally got to stand up again.  
  
It only took a few moments before I heard the clicks of the trunk's locks opening and the slight hiss as the lid was lifted. After the darkness, the sudden glare from a very hot sun felt like it was burning my retinas out and I made a noise, wishing my hands were free so I could shield my eyes. As soon as I felt the sting subside I turned to look back out. I needed to know who'd caught me. I needed to know where we were.  
  
I stared up at the face as it looked me over, presumably to see if I was still in one piece.  
  
"...Max..." I managed.  
  
He said nothing but reached in. I instinctively flinched as he grabbed me by my upper arm and lifted me out, putting me down on my feet. The ground underneath me felt sandy but moist. It had baked warm in the sun but I was still shivering. I didn't bother giving the surroundings a look. I stared up at Max in disbelief, giving my head a slight shake.  
  
"Sorry about the less than luxurious trip, kid," He said without his usual good-natured tone. "Couldn't risk you waking up on the backseat and try to grab hold of the wheel, you know?"  
  
"Max...Are... Are you insane?" It came out in a whisper at first. "Are you insane?! Are you _insane?!"_  
  
He gave me a piercing stare. "What else what I suppose to do, Ratchet? Especially after the Lombax Space Station."  
  
I shook my head again, hard this time. "You're out of your mind! What the hell are... Max what the _HELL_ are you thinking?! Why?! _WHY?!"_  
  
The hard stare remained but I was too furious to feel intimidated in any way. I was so angry I could barely speak.  
  
"Look," He said, stepping aside so I could get a better view of where we were. Behind him stood what looked like an ancient building. It was made from stone, intricately carved and with thousands upon thousands of painted swirls, worn away by rain, sun, and wind. The stone itself was stained black and green with centuries of moss and lichen. In some places, giant trees had taken root on higher tiers of the building and massive roots cascaded down walls, ripping apart brick as they went. The building was cubic. Not a perfect square in of itself, but rather it had sharp, 90 degree corners and had several layers or floors to it. The higher floors each having something of a balcony from the roof of the previous floor. Stone carved figures adorned spires that rose brokenly from some places. There were black, perfectly square windows carved into some of the walls, along with large semicircles that had to be doors. Beside one of these, stood two larger than life statues guarding an entrance. The statues had giant heads with enormous eyes, but small bodies. I recognised the species instantly.  
  
"This is the Zoni temple," I said. It wasn't a question.  
  
Max gave a nod. I felt him take a hold of one of my upper arms again and the feeling of friction against the zip-cuffs binding my wrists. After a second I felt myself freed and started to rub the place where the plastic had dug into me the most. I turned and gave Max something between a furious glare and a deeply pained expression.  
  
"Why'd you bring me here? Why did you do this?!"  
  
Max gave a deep sigh and shook his head, although he didn't look as upset as I felt he should. "Kid. I was hoping we could've ended up here differently. I was gonna ask if you'd wanna come, but after the space station you made it clear you wouldn't have accepted the offer."  
  
"What are you talking about?!" I yelled again, spinning to face him. "Don't play games with me, Max! Answer the damn question!"  
  
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I've spent the last 10 years of my life here." He turned his gaze away from me, staring at the temple unseeingly. "Ten long... long years. You'd think I'd have learned everything there is to know about this place, wouldn't you? It was my reason for waking up each morning. My reason for living. And yet, there are still things we can't even begin to guess about this place."  
  
I had a brief second where I thought about turning and running when he looked away, but before I could consider it seriously he turned back to me. "a Temple to the zoni built tens of thousands of years ago. But with Lombax modifications added in the last 30. Why? What were they doing? No-one has managed to figure that out. I'd been trying to get into the deeper chambers for an entire decade with no luck. But now, with you here," I saw something resembling the old grin return. "we can _finally_ put it to rest. We can _finally_ get to those deep chambers and see why this place was so important. Why it _is_ so important. That's why I had to bring you here, kid. You said you were done with helping me unlock doors but you _had_ to come here."  
  
I felt my eyes narrow as I balled my fists. "You knocked me out, stuffed me in a trunk, and dragged me all the way out here so you could use me as your own personal crowbar to get into an ancient tomb. You _are_ insane."  
  
"This was my life, boy!" He suddenly raised his voice. It was like his laughter in that it was deep and booming. It was as much felt as heard. "This was my _entire life!_ Ten years in this tropical hell! _Ten Years_ of my life _wasted!_ Ten years that I could've spent with a daughter and a family and built a career and bought a home! Instead I was trapped in this sweltering greenhouse with just this collection of rock for company! And for what?! To learn _nothing_ about its secrets?! No! No I won't accept it! There's a _reason_ I was left here! There' something for me to find! And I will be _damned_ if I let a scrawny orphan like you keep me from that!"  
  
He calmed down but kept breathing heavily, he glared daggers at me. I was gritting my teeth. I could feel all the bristles standing upright down my spine.  
  
"You're going to open those doors, Ratchet," He said with a calm but dangerous tone of voice, "and we are going to _find_ what's inside this thing."  
  
My fingers dug into my palms painfully as I stood rooted to the spot, almost shaking in anger. "I'm not setting one foot in that place, Max. I don't care what obsession you have with it. It's locked for a reason. And I'm not gonna be used like a glorified lockpick any more."  
  
His face hardened but I did nothing to back down, glaring with just as much poison as he did. I said nothing else. There was nothing to add, and nothing to argue about. I wanted to be clear on that.  
  
"Take me home." I turned slightly towards the ship but I kept an eye on him.  
  
He stood frozen in place. The only motion came from a hand, which reached around to a back-pocket before coming forward again, a barrel pointed right at me. I froze, turning my head to stare at him again.  
  
"Don't make me a murderer, kid," He said with a hushed, sharp tone.  
  
Talwyn's face flashed in my mind's eye. I knew, in the second she came to mind, I couldn't do that to her. I couldn't do any of this to her if her father pulled the trigger.  
  
I turned back to him stiffly, every muscle in my face hardened as I tried to hate him to death.  
  
He nudged the blaster towards the temple's entrance.  
  
"We'll get this over with and then I'll take you back to the station. You have my word, son."  
  
"Don't ever call me that," I hissed softly, a growl in my throat as I walked past him and marched towards the entrance.


	14. The Temple

Conflicting plans ran through my head as I was walked towards the temple's entrance. On the one hand, I could try to get away immediately and lose Max among the trees of the rainforest, or I could wait until we were inside the temple and bide my time until I could slip away and hide myself in the dark, backtracking to the entrance. Both plans were kinda suicidal as I knew Max hadn't taken the gun off me. It wouldn't be completely impossible to dodge him if he shot at me, but at such a close range I wasn't gonna risk it. As for whether Max would actually use it or not... I tried not to think about that. I had to treat this as I would any problem with an armed enemy.  
  
Another plan was to try to get the gun away from him somehow, but I wrote that idea off almost immediately. Max was a large man, but he wasn't built like Qwark was. The muscle he had on him came from real world struggles, not a personal trainer. His arms were thick, his hands like hammers, and his shoulders loomed over me as I walked. I was 5'2" and weighed 97 pounds. No matter how I pictured it, trying to wrestle the weapon away would only end badly for me, even if I did manage to not get shot in the process.  
  
So I kept marching, my jaw clenched shut as I refused to give Max so much as a glance. I could hear his heavy boots behind me, crunching over the twigs and leaves that had fallen into the clearing and been scorched dry by the tropical sun. We reached the dark doorway that led into the temple, a shallow staircase leading downwards. After the heat from both the sun and the warmly baked ground, the chilled air of the tunnel hit me hard and I had to suppress a shudder. I came to a stop and finally turned to Max, trying to show nothing but anger towards him.  
  
He wasn't looking at me, not out of shame or guilt, but purely out of disinterest. He nodded towards the darkness. "Most of the passages from this side of the temple are still pretty intact. Some of the other doors lead to cave-ins or other dead-ends, but there's a clear trail from this one to the deeper locked doors."  
  
"Where is everyone?" I asked, partly out of curiosity but also to try to figure out what I had to work with to escape. "Aren't there suppose to be guys studying this thing?"  
  
"There were," Max nodded, "However, I passed on word to the institute that we'd made a discovery suggesting the site could be dangerous and the researchers should be evacuated. I told them I'd send additional info as soon as I was able to decipher some."  
  
"You lied," I said flatly.  
  
"I'll call them up and tell them it was a false alarm when we get back to the station," He said unconcerned. "Let's keep moving." He nudged one of my shoulders with the back of his hand lightly. I flinched away from it as if he'd struck me, shooting him a venomous glare.  
  
"Don't touch me," I said simply before descending the stairs into the dark.  
  
I dunno how those scientist guys worked down there. The temple was a depressing place. I'm sure when they worked they had torches, flood lamps or some other way to keep the place lit, but even if it hadn't been pitch dark I was sure it was still just as dismal a place to be. The air was cool and had a damp, mouldy smell to it. At the edges of Max's belt-mounted light, I could both see and hear things scatter, scurrying away into the cracks of the stone and floor. The intricate writing and murals carved and painted against the walls were covered in places by moss and lichen, or a slime trail from water leaking down from a crack overhead. The floor was made of paved stone. It had a smooth texture to it that came from age, broken up by an occasional stagnant puddle that'd formed either by dripping water, or from some other mysterious source. I could see insect larvae wriggling around when Max's light hit them the right way.  
  
Sometimes a breeze would brush past us before it would carry on to howl down the deeper tunnels and caverns. We walked through rooms that had cracks in their ceilings, letting sunlight in. These often had a bunch of ferns and other low-growing plants in them. But as we went deeper into the building we soon lost signs of light completely, and the only plants we'd see were small, nasty looking mushrooms growing in corners or clinging to walls, destroying the craved scenes of zoni doing miraculous acts.  
  
We walked in silence. Sometimes it sounded like Max wanted to say something, but he always went silent again. I ignored him, focusing on trying to create a mental map of the way we were going. I had a good natural sense of direction but I wasn't gonna risk getting lost in this place when I try to make my getaway.  
  
I dunno how long we'd been going before the passage opened up to a large hall. There were zoni statues on the far left and right sides of it, similar to the ones that'd been guarding he entrance. A small staircase descended in front of us before going up again on the opposite side of the room to three different doorways. Pillars rose upwards to the ceiling, but they seemed to be mostly for show. They had highly detailed designs spiralling across them. One of them had broken and was clinging to the ceiling. Its base lost somewhere below. I couldn't see where exactly, because stretching between the two sets of stairs the entire floor of the hall was flooded with dark, murky water.  
  
"No complaining this time," Max said next to me. "We need to cross to get where we'll start seeing lombax influences."  
  
I said nothing but gave him a dirty look. I thought about using the water to my advantage in trying to get away, but decided to wait. I didn't have my O2 mask and I wasn't very good at swimming or holding my breath. Water's never been my strong point.  
  
With that in mind, I started climbing down the stairs into the pool. I couldn't see through the water and hoped there wasn't anything hungry and vicious swimming below the surface. The water was cold and the floor below it felt somehow both slimy and gritty at the same time. I could feel a thin layer of muck get dislodged each time I took a step. The room was larger than it looked in the dark, and it was a few minutes before we reached the other side. The water had luckily only been up to my stomach but I still felt soaked to the bone when I got out. I wanted a shower more than anything at that moment to wash off whatever bugs, scum, or algae was living in that soup.  
  
"Come on, keep moving, kid," Max said as he wrung out his shirt. The water didn't seem to be bothering him at all.  
  
I shook water from my hands as I glared at him. I noticed he'd been staying behind me as we walked, telling me where to turn and which passages to ignore as we went. If he'd led the way I could've easily tried to lose him when he wasn't watching. I figured he'd thought of that too. I started walking again as he motioned towards the left most tunnel. The air was getting cooler and staler the further we went. I could hear something echo as it dripped.  
  
"Is this really what you wanna do?" I asked eventually. As angry and betrayed as I felt, I couldn't completely convince myself that Max was a violent person, regardless of the barrel pointed between my shoulder blades.  
  
"No." The reply came surprisingly quick. His voice was even, but there was a seriousness to it I wasn't use to. "But you heard what I said. I refuse to let 10 years of my life be wasted for nothing. At first I thought you'd be willing to help but... here we are."  
  
"So all that genetic lock stuff you made me learn and all those things you made me unlock. It didn't mean anything to you? You were trying to prep me for this?" I gripped my thumbs so hard I could feel my knuckles crack.  
  
He didn't reply.  
  
"That's cold, Max," I added.  
  
"Just keep walking." Something steel nudged me and I went silent, watching the darkness ahead of me.  
  
After a while, I noticed changes in the Temple walls and floors. Something that looked like brass was inlaid in the stone of the walls, often overlapping faded zoni paintings. Copper and gold coloured metal in spherical shapes also started appearing on the floor. After a few minutes, I saw the first design that was unmistakably a gear. More could be seen as we walked further. Soon the architecture had changed so much that, if I hadn't known better, I'd have sworn we were in a lombax ruin like those Max had taken me to before. There were no more circular script in blue paint or carvings of glowing, floating zoni. They'd been replaced by the now almost familiar shapes of interlocking cogs and gears. They weren't moving. I could see rust built up on them, as well as a healthy growth of fungus and tiny mushrooms. The next doorway we passed through was rectangular in shape, not spherical like the doors had been up until now and it was smaller. Max had to duck slightly to get through. There were fewer turns into other passages as we kept going. The hallway seemed to be leading to something specific.  
  
After what felt like hours, we came across what at first looked like a dead-end. As we got closer, however, Max's light made it possible to see the difference between the wall in front of us and the walls around us. The stone it was made from was much smoother, almost like marble, and the only gears it had on it were three in its centre.  
  
"Here we go," Max said with a soft smile on his face, as if he was looking over a family photo or a child's drawing. He brushed a hand across the stone. "We've found at least a dozen of these doors throughout the place, but we haven't been able to open any of them. Not for lack of trying either, but they're heavily reinforced, by the looks of things. We've tried everything short of blowing up the whole temple and we haven't made so much as a scratch." He pulled his hand away, turning to look at me, his eyes flashing. "You have no idea how long I've waited to see one of them opened."  
  
"Max. listen." I tried one last time, raising my hands ever so slightly. "I get why this is important to you. Maybe I can't empathise or anything, but I get it. But this is... weird. I don't think this place was meant to be opened up and waltzed into. I mean... obviously the guys who built this part of it didn't want it to be found, let alone opened up."  
  
"Yeah well, I'm afraid I'm not really interested in your opinion this time, kid," Max said with a slight bite to his voice. "An archaeologist can't just walk away because something seems weird."  
  
I frowned again. "This is an obsession you have, Max! And you know it."  
  
His eyes narrowed. "Open the door, Ratchet. You know you don't have a choice."  
  
I ground my teeth, flexing my hands. "I just can't... I really don't think..."  
  
"I said open it!"  
  
He shot out a hand and grabbed me by one of my forearms before yanking me painfully forward. My wrist felt like it was being bent at an awkward angle. He pressed my palm against the door, hard. I squirmed but it was like trying to push a boulder.  
  
There was a heavy thunk from somewhere and bits of stone and dust rained over us. Max let me go and I took several steps backwards, away from the door. I instinctively clutched my wrist, rubbing it as I watched the door in front of us rise upwards with the sound like something scraping against granite. Max was staring at the doorway as it slowly opened up. I could hear wind rushing from somewhere deep inside it.  
  
I watched Max silently out of the corner of my eye. He was transfixed on the doorway, as if everything else had stopped existing. He was even holding his breath. I adjusted my stance, lowering my arms as I turned to the side very slightly. Before I could move any further, his hand grabbed hold of me again, this time by the shoulder. He didn't even bother turning to face me as he did so. He just gave me a slight shove forward so I was in front of him again.  
  
"Come on! We gotta keep going! We have to see where this leads! Get moving!" He barked his orders, his voice frantic with excitement.  
  
I frowned hard to myself but started walking again, cursing myself for not moving faster.  
  
The hallway on the other side of the door was similar to the one we'd just come from. It had the same designs and metals on it. The only real difference was that there was less moisture damage done to the walls. The air also had a bad taste to it. Almost like egg, and not in a good way. I also noticed as we walked that there were only three or four passages that led off from the one we were in. We stopped in front of all of them when we reached them. Max muttered to himself as he inspected them, trying to decide whether we should change our course or not. Each time however he seemed to decide, for whatever reason, to keep going the way we were.  
  
"Did you have to jerk me around when you opened this thing?" I grumbled after a while.  
  
Max didn't reply, there was a hunger in his face as he walked behind me. I wasn't even sure if he'd heard me. He looked like a man possessed. I turned to the front again, trying to work out what I was gonna do now. I wondered how long we'd been gone. It must've been morning on the Apogee Space Station by now. One good thing about finding out it'd been Max who'd knocked me out was that at least I knew he wouldn't have done anything bad to Talwyn or Clank. I wondered if they'd figured out I wasn't just off playing hooky somewhere. I couldn't remember if the station had security cameras or not. I wondered if they'd check it when they started to get worried. I wondered if they were worried already.  
  
I realised we were approaching another dead-end looking door. This one was much different, though. The ceiling sloped upwards, making the door almost double the height of the passage we'd been following. It was made of industrial looking steel, not stone. It had no gear designs on it and no inlay of brass or anything decorative at all. The only thing on it was a few lines of Lombax text. Everything else about it clashed with the design of the hallway completely. It also had the large, blackish flowers of explosions on it, although it didn't seem like the metal itself had been damaged.  
  
"What's it say?" I asked Max despite myself. When I got back to Igliak I really had to sit down and learn how to read this stuff.  
  
Max stood next to me, raising his belt-mounted light to shine on the text as he squinted, trying to read the black lettering against the reflecting steel of the door.  
  
"'You've travelled far to find this room  
  
but know it is no vault or tomb.  
  
What sleep inside all life should dread  
  
The stolen secret we hid instead.'"  
  
I gave a load groan. "What is it with them and the overly dramatic poetry?! They did this on Rykan V too!"  
  
Max wasn't listening to me. He was inspecting the rest of the door with a deep frown, running his hands over it and scratching at the black burns. "This isn't a lombax structure. Or at least... not completely."  
  
I kept quiet, watching him as he worked, almost like he could extract knowledge from the steel just by touching it. I frowned to myself, running my eyes over the lombax letters again. The only sentence that seemed to make any sense was the first one. The other three made me very nervous as to what was inside.  
  
"If it's not Lombax then what is it?" I asked.  
  
"The design's a little generic but from what I can figure out, it looks like it might be Cragmite," He said with a frown of concentration.  
  
I blinked wide-eyed at him. "What?! Why?"  
  
"Well now, that's the exciting part, isn't it?" He gave me the long absent grin, but this time it wasn't good-natured or jovial. It looked a little manic.  
  
"You gotta stop, Max," I started but he wouldn't hear any of it.  
  
"Open the door, kid." It didn't sound like a request.  
  
I bit my lip. This was wrong. This was so wrong. I couldn't just let him keep doing this. I needed to take a stand. But my eyes hovered to the gun in his hand again, and I thought of my friends back on the station. Besides, if he did shoot me that probably wouldn't stop him from opening the door anyway.  
  
I hesitated too long and he walked towards me, taking a hold on my arm again and gripping it painfully hard. He led me to the door and pressed my hand against the door. I balled it into a fist, glaring at the steel in front of me.  
  
"Open. The door." He hissed next to my head.  
  
I didn't look at him, my eyes narrowing as I clenched my fist tighter. I felt cold steel press against my temple.  
  
"Don't you push me, Ratchet! Don't you think for a moment I'm not determined enough to do it!" He yelled. It echoed down the passageway.  
  
"Whatever's behind this door isn't for you, Max," I said in a voice much calmer than I felt.  
  
He growled furiously and I felt the barrel pull away from my head, followed by a painful blow. I made an involuntary, strangled noise as I stumbled in place, Max still holding my arm. The brief moment of disorientation was enough and I realised I'd opened my hand instinctively to catch my balance. There were clicks from behind the door followed by the whir of machinery. Max let me go abruptly, causing me to lose my balance. I gave my head a quick shake to pull myself together. I watched as the giant steel door groaned and complained from movement after who knows how many years. Eventually, slowly, it started to move, sliding sideways and out the way, revealing a dark cavern.  
  
Max's light picked out several more doors like the one we'd just opened leading into the same room, but they were all still shut. The cavern itself was circular, the top most part of its ceiling was made from something like glass, although the dark and the build up of grime made it impossible to see what was above it. The walls between the doors were completely occupied by silent consoles. In the centre of the room stood something like an island console. It had controls and screens circling it at its base, but it kept going beyond that, becoming an entanglement of wires and tubing that curled around a central steel pillar like some kind of ivy. The pillar rose through a hole in the glass ceiling and, from what I could tell, kept going upwards beyond that.  
  
Max walked into the room eagerly, making directly for the console in the centre of it. I quickly scrambled back to my feet.  
  
"Leave it alone, Max!" I warned as I followed him.  
  
He was frowning to himself, but not in frustration. It was the pleased frown of someone trying to work out a puzzle that, although hard, they were enjoying immensely.  
  
"This is it," He said softly to himself. He smiled. It was quiet, and sad. "This is what I was meant to find."  
  
He reached out and put a hand on the console, tracing the dust-covered buttons and dials.  
  
"Max..." I shook my head. "Don't..."  
  
His hand stopped, remained in place for a second, and then pressed down.  
  
Green lights started coming on all over the room. Energy started coursing through previously unseen cables underneath the floor. The central console's buttons started to blink and flash before its screens started to flicker on one by one. Lights started going on up along the steel pillar and beyond the glass-like ceiling. On the other side of it was something I couldn't even describe as a cavern, or a hall, or a room. It was too large, and too high. It spanned all the way from where we were deep underground back up to the very top of the temple above us.  
  
There was a deep rumble and the floor, walls, and even the ceiling started to shake. I snapped my gaze back to Max for a second and was startled to see he was staring at me, quiet resolution on his face.  
  
I gave my head a shake at him, took a step backwards, and then spun on my heels, running out the room and back down the passage as the rumbling grew louder.


	15. Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to run.

I thought the temple's rumbling was just the sign of some kind of mechanism starting up and that it would calm down after a while. Instead, the further I ran the worse it seemed to get. I was stumbling almost as much as I was running. All my wits were focused on trying to find my way back to the entrance, but the dark, and confusion, and groaning of ancient stone being dislodged made it so hard I was sure I was just getting myself hopelessly lost.  
  
I kept going though. I didn't know what that machine had done, but every fibre of my being told me I needed to get away from it. I ran down hallways, often bouncing off the walls with my hands as I tried to keep my balance and keep up a steady pace at the same time. It was like an earthquake, but at the same time not like an earthquake. An earthquake makes the ground shake side to side but most of the movement here seemed to be like the temple was a snowglobe being shook by someone. Part of me was wondering what the hell was happening, but it was buried under a whole slew of other thoughts and instinctive reactions. Keep going. Don't slow down. Listen for cave ins. Keep your eyes open for any signs of light.  
  
I sprinted down the passage, hoping that a turn I ignored wasn't the way I needed to go to get out. I could hear, as if coming from the walls themselves, the far off yet too close for comfort sound of stone crashing in on stone. The passages made the noise echo back on itself to disorienting effect.  
  
I'm not sure how to properly describe what happened next. There was a sudden, strong sense of vertigo and I fell forward, hitting the ground flat. It felt like I was suddenly stuck in an elevator that was going upwards too fast. Either that, or gravity had suddenly decided to get a little stronger. Both suggestions made about as much sense as the other.  
  
I pushed myself back to my feet and picked up my run. Getting trapped down here in the dark with no way out was constantly on my mind, but I was also very aware of the danger that the ceiling could suddenly give way and I could have the whole building fall and bury me. If I was lucky it'd crush me to death. If I was unlucky I'd survive but be pinned. I sped up, panting as I tried to keep some kind of track of which way I was going.  
  
As I ran through a doorway there was a sudden sense of a wider space around me, but before I could even take note of this, the ground lurched again. I stumbled in my run only to feel no ground below my feet and I crashed forward, sending up a spray of black, brackish water.  
  
It was such a shock to the system I thrashed for a second before I found my feet, coughing and spitting out the mouthful of water I'd swallowed. I looked around quickly to try to get my bearings. The pool of water I'd fallen into was up to my stomach, and a few feet to my right I thought I could make out the dim outline of a pillar in the dark. Relief flooded through me as I realised I'd managed to find the pool Max and I had crossed when we first got here. It meant I was heading the right way. I took a second to figure out where I'd come from before I started wading in the opposite direction.  
  
I only went a step before I winced and had to catch my balance. A stab of pain shot through my ankle as I put weight on it. I must've twisted it when I fell. I swore loudly and punched at the water, sending a curtain of it upwards and over me.  
  
I pulled myself together and started wading towards the other side again, limping awkwardly while still trying to move as fast as I was able. The ground seemed to have stopped shaking and instead was now doing a rolling motion, as if I was on the ocean. It caused small waves to form on the water's surface.  
  
I reached the small stairway on the other end of the room and got out. I was completely soaked from head to tail-end but I didn't have the time to worry about that, especially since now I had to slow down for my sprain. My nerves frayed with every frustratingly slow step as I walked down the hallway I hoped was the one we'd come by. I had a hand pressed against the wall to support myself. The floor's rocking did little to help my balance. Eventually I started using my bruised ankle more, despite the throbbing pain this caused.  
  
The first patch of light I saw turned out to be a false alarm. It was just a cavern whose roof had caved in. I gave the hole in the ceiling a once over but the damage was old and there was no neat pile of rubble for me to climb and get out. With my injured ankle I wasn't gonna be able to wall-jump it either. The frustration was starting to build up like bile in my gut as I forced myself away from the light and onwards down the black tunnel.  
  
After what felt like hours, I finally saw the rectangular light of a doorway ahead of me. I sped up as much as I could. I stumbled out the doorway and threw my hands up to shield my eyes from the sudden blast of sunlight. All my experience was telling me I had to clear the building and fast. I was about to move forward when I caught myself and froze where I stood, staring ahead of me in disbelief.  
  
The ground had disappeared. At least, that's what it looked like at first. In front of me there was nothing but empty air. I gripped the doorway's side with both hands, suddenly aware that if the place lurched again, I'd be thrown out into nothingness. There was an ocean of green in front of me, stretching as far as I could see. I could even hear something like the crashing of waves.  
  
I gave my head a shake and got my sense back in order. The sea of green was the canopy of the jungle's trees spanning into the distance. The sound that I was hearing was that of trees being broken and crushed underneath the structure which, I realised with a pang of nausea, was moving. The rocking motion I'd been feeling was in fact the temple's slow procession forward. I had no idea how high I was but the fact that we'd cleared the trees, and then some, told me I was higher than what was considered a good idea. The trees alone had to be over 50 feet tall and yet the canopy directly under me looked very far away. If I fell there'd be no question that I'd be killed.  
  
I stared out at the horizon, squinting against the rush of wind as I tried to re-order my thoughts around this new problem. There was no way to get down without ending up dead, and going back into the dark, crumbling temple didn't seem like the greatest idea either. That left only one other way to go; up.  
  
I looked around the entranceway to the outer walls of the structure. The stones were rough and weather-beaten. The trees that had been growing on the higher levels of the layered building had their roots torn as the temple seemed to have ripped itself out of the ground. Violently, by the looks of it.  
  
I gave the canopy below me one last look before I turned my attention to the wall. I felt around until I found a hand-hold. I gripped it with all I was worth before I stepped out of the doorway. Once I'd managed to find something to grip I started to plan how I was going to climb to the roof of the place. The rocking motion unnerved me, but at least it seemed to be moving in a consistent pattern. Not that it made the climb any easier. I moved painfully slowly, taking extra care to be sure of a hold before shifting my weight and moving my grip. Sometimes the roots of an ancient tree gave me a little more stability to work with and I could get onto the roof of a higher floor and catch my breath for a moment on flat ground. Other trees I avoided, afraid that if I put weight on them they'd tip and crash over the side to the distant ground, taking me with them.  
  
The tropical sun-baked down hard, despite the fact that I could see it was starting to sink. I felt fur stick against the skin on my face as I sweated from both the heat as well as the exertion of climbing. It was like my own body was conspiring my death, as my hands felt hot and sticky as I dug my fingers deeper into each hold I could find. I grit my teeth as I almost dragged myself upwards. My eyes stung but I didn't dare let go of the wall to wipe them. Only when I once again reached a level roof did I let myself drop to my knees for a moment. I closed my eyes, breathing hard, suddenly aware of how strained I felt. My arms ached and it felt like ice was coursing through them. My legs felt like they'd been lit on fire. Pain was tearing through my ankle.  
  
I looked up. I only had one more floor to climb and I'd reach the top. What I was gonna do when I got there, I didn't know. I didn't think about that. I just focused on getting there, where there was a large expanse of level ground where I couldn't be thrown off if the place made a sudden shift.  
  
I swallowed, not out of nervousness but to try and clear my mouth and throat. They felt like they'd been sandpapered, and my mouth tasted like gravel and copper. I pushed myself up and limped to the last wall. I found somewhere to grip and slowly made the last of the climb. I ignored my arms telling me they couldn't keep this up, as well as the burning sensation in my fingers, or the throb of pain in my ankle screaming for attention.  
  
I reached the top of the roof and immediately scrambled away from the edge before rolling onto my back, drinking in some very deep breaths. I couldn't tell if I was feeling lightheaded or if it was just the movement of the building under me. I didn't care. At that moment I just lay as still as I could, trying to will away the pain in my limbs.  
  
Eventually I pushed myself up again. I wasn't nearly out of trouble yet. I needed to figure out what the hell I was going to do now. I had no plan. I had no ideas or even ways I could've just 'winged it'. I was completely stuck, but I refused to acknowledge that fact just yet.  
  
As I stood up, I saw what I was sharing the roof with. Growing out of the roof itself was an enormous steel dome circling a pillar, pointed skywards. It was the size of half the entire roof and towered over me. Around its central pillar's base there was a large hole it'd risen from. I stared at it, dumbfounded.  
  
It was a satellite dish. Larger than I think I'd ever seen. It was made of plain steel and had rust built up in places. It didn't look ancient though. And it didn't look lombax.  
  
Despite my shock, my mechanic's brain managed to very quickly point out a few basic facts. This was not something meant for basic off-world communication. I felt a sense of horror as I tried to picture how far-reaching anything signalled from that dish would be. The next thing that went through my mind was that I was staring at a transmission device, and transmission would mean rescue.  
  
I thought about it for a moment but it didn't take long for me to decide that, regardless of the mess I was in, I had to leave the thing alone. I didn't know what it was meant to do but the mere sight of it, looming over me, pointing ominously spaceward, gave me chills. Besides, even if I did want to use it, there was no control panel at its base, and I was guessing the hole it'd risen from was more than just a few feet deep.  
  
I scanned the roof by there were no signs of any other kinds of technology around. The dish was in stark contrast to everything else. The roof had nothing to offer but sand, stone, ferns growing out of cracks, and the occasional terrified lizard skittering past. I bit down on my lip as I tried to think of a plan. Any plan. What I needed to do was get off and away from the now-moving temple. I just had no way how. The only real option was to get down but there was no way to do that without getting killed.  
  
I stood in silence, feeling the rock of the ground as the building moved slowly but deliberately forward, wading through the trees like they were grass. I listened to the crash each time a leg trampled everything under it. Slowly, tentatively, I started to wonder if I could find the spot where whatever the temple was walking with was coming from and somehow climb down it to the ground. It was a bad idea. In fact it was a _terrible_ idea. But I couldn't think of anything else. I knew the odds of me losing my grip on something moving and connecting with the ground so hard was probably very likely but I had to try, even if I knew it was suicide.  
  
I clenched my fists and started walking to the edge of the roof, looking over the side to try to find the structure's legs. It didn't take long. What at first looked like sharp, pointed mountains rising up out of the jungle turned out to be enormous, spiked legs, almost spider-like. The grew out from the bottom of the temple, arced upwards to a sharp, mountain-like peak before curving downwards again to a pointed leg which tore through the trees, crushing them under foot and sending all kinds of flying wildlife into the air in a panic.  
  
Another sound streaked across the sky, above the temple and its dish. I snapped my gaze upwards just in time to see the vapour trails dissolve in the air. I ran as best I could to the centre of the roof again. I watched the sky, hoping I wasn't mistaking the signature sound of the engine I'd heard.  
  
The sound came again, like silk being ripped, as I finally caught a glimpse of the navy and cyan ship circling overhead. I threw up my hands and waved them over my head as wide as I could, calling out to it although I didn't think anyone could hear me.  
  
Aphelion banked and made a wide turn, coming to circle around again. She was still very high and I didn't know if I'd been seen or not. I kept waving, yelling at her to see me. She did another fly-by before she banked again, this time dipping and lowering until she almost buzzed the roof. She rose again once she'd flown by before turning back, this time in a quick roll as she headed directly towards me.  
  
I stood rooted to the spot, waiting anxiously until she was hovering just a few feet above the temple's roof. Her cockpit slid open and a hand stretched out to me  
  
"Ratchet! Grab on!"  
  
I took the jump at a run, grabbing onto the ship's wing and hoisting myself up onto it before moving forward and grabbing the hand which was reaching out. It gripped me tightly as I took the second jump and fell into the cockpit and onto Talwyn's lap.  
  
The cockpit closed and I felt the sense of vertigo as Aphelion climbed upwards and away from the roof. I clambered awkwardly over Tal as I tried to get myself right-side up again.  
  
"Ratchet! Are you alright?" I deeply concern voice spoke up from the driver's seat.  
  
I finally managed to untangle myself and sat on the side of the passenger's seat, my shoulder pressed against the cockpit's glass.  
  
"I'm ok," I said absently, staring out at the temple which was now below us.  
  
The building was... no longer a building. It was a layered growth of stone and trees coming out of something my mind was having trouble figuring out. It was made of rock. The hard, shiny rock of the deep underground. Its shape reminded me of a spider, or rather a crab. Each leg curved out from the thing's underbelly. The rock they were made from was covered in deep crags and jutting boulders, as if each leg was a bizarre shaped mountain that seemed to rise naturally from the ground when they remained still before the rose slowly and deliberately to take a step forward. There was no sense of a 'front' or 'back' to the thing. It was as if the ground below the temple had just sprung to life and started to march across the landscape. The satellite dish sat on the very highest point of its back. It was motionless but its mere presence seemed to suggest some kind of purpose to the monster's march.  
  
I stared at it as we circled, trying to gain momentum to break the stratosphere. My tongue was stuck to the roof of my mouth, and my throat felt dry.  
  
'Go back.' a voice inside me said. 'He's still in there.'  
  
I shook my head, although I'm not even sure if it was to say 'no' to the thought or not. I gave a long exhale, resting my forehead in one of my hands and shutting my eyes. I could feel myself sinking in place.  
  
"Ratchet...? Are you sure you're-"  
  
"Just take us home, Clank," I said with a voice that shook.  
  
I felt a gentle hand rest itself on my back but I ignored it. Both Clank and Talwyn kept repeating themselves, asking if I was really alright and if I was hurt anywhere. I kept telling them simply that I was ok, despite the fact that I knew they weren't buying it. Eventually they stopped asking and we flew in silence. I could feel the tension rolling off them but I'd run out of energy to deal with it. I felt the change in speed as Clank started to push the thrusters harder than what was necessary.  
  
Every inch of me ached. I knew eventually I was going to have to tell them what happened, and what Max had done, and that was making me feel sick. So for the moment I just ignored them, sitting in silence. I focused on the soft drone of the ship instead, blocking everything else out for the rest of the trip back to Apogee Space Station.


	16. Blame

My head was starting to swim and my arms felt like lead. I just wanted to find somewhere I could crawl into and fall asleep, but I knew I wasn't gonna get the chance. Not yet, anyway.  
  
I stepped down from the cockpit to the floor, my arms shaking at the exertion. I ignored them, turning to watch Talwyn follow me while Clank rounded the ship from the driver's side. I hurt, I was exhausted, and I was sure I needed to get a serious amount of water in me, but there was business to take care of first.  
  
"We need to call... I dunno. Someone," I said, running a hand over the top of my head. I could feel fur sticking out at odd angles.  
  
"Because of that... thing?" Talwyn asked, frowning lightly at me. "What exactly was that, anyway? I mean it, looked like a giant walking building but where the heck did it come from? And what were you doing on top of it? And where did you go?! You just disappeared!"  
  
I shook my head at her although what this was suppose to mean I didn't even know.  
  
"I still do not believe it was by choice, Talwyn," Clank defended me. "But I do think we should hear what happened before we do anything else."  
  
I shook my head again with more purpose. "That thing's still walking around. We need to do something."  
  
"It is on a wild planet with no large cities or dense populations and no way of getting off-world. I think it will be alright for half an hour," He replied, giving me a sideways look.  
  
Tension was growing in my gut, telling me we had to get going, get it figured out and fix it some how. This was happening _now_ and I felt the urge to try and deal with it _now._ But I didn't have the energy to even picture myself getting back in that ship and turning around. My head was starting to pound.  
  
"How'd you find me anyway?" I rubbed at my eyes as I spoke.  
  
"We'll give you the full story, but first it looks like you need an aspirin... or 12." Talwyn crossed her arms at me, but she didn't seem angry.  
  
I sighed and nodded, not bothering to argue. "Fine. We can... exchange notes or whatever in the living room or something."  
  
We crossed the hangar towards the elevator as I tried to figure out a way to blow the news gently to Tal about what her dad had done. The thought was draining, but I needed to tell her.  
  
"You need nanotech," a voice said beside me.  
  
"How many times I gotta tell you I'm fine?" I snapped, shooting Clank a dirty look. "I look worse than I am. Honest."  
  
"You are limping," He replied with a flat voice, turning his eyes from my leg to my face. I couldn't read his expression.  
  
I dropped my shoulders at this, turning to the front again. "Oh yeah. That."  
  
He didn't look away, probably waiting to hear my explanation but I kept silent, keeping my eyes forward. I couldn't put on the best stubborn act at that moment, though. I was dusty, my fur mussed in places, and I could feel my ears hanging lower than normal. That last thing always annoyed me. I dunno why I did that when I got hurt, but Clank had long ago noticed the involuntary sign and made sure to take note of it when I'd been smacked around a few times too many.  
  
"I've got a stash you can use," Talwyn said, turning to give me something like a smile, although it wasn't all the way there.  
  
I managed to give her a proper one in response, and doing so helped me feel like I managed to let go of some tension. "Thanks, Tal."  
  
The elevator ride was quiet, but I could tell that although they still seemed on edge, both Talwyn and Clank were convinced that I wasn't gonna keel over dead on the spot or whatever it is girls and know-it-all robots worried about. I was determined not to give them a reason to fuss, so I refused to wince when we climbed the stairs to the living quarters.  
  
Talwyn had the best couch in the entire universe at that moment. I flopped down on it and gave a long exhale, sinking in place. I felt Talwyn give my back a single pat before she tapped the nav-unit on her wrist.  
  
"Back safe and sound guys," She said into it.  
  
I was watching her when I heard the metallic footsteps walk away, heading for the kitchen. I turned to watch Clank go. Somewhere, the selfish part of me felt hurt that he was just gonna leave the room without saying a thing to me. I was too tired to follow him. I gave a surreptitious sigh to myself as I turned back to Talwyn talking to her robot guardians.  
  
"Yeah, we're ok more or less," She said in response to whatever Kronk had asked. I hadn't been paying attention. "A little worse for wear but I think we're ok."  
  
'We' I noticed.  
  
"Could you run and get me a nanotech pack from the infirmary?" She asked casually. "Ratchet twisted something I think."  
  
 _"Can do, Miss!"_ Kronk replied. _"We'll get him good as new for ye in no time!"_  
  
"Whatever that's suppose to mean," I grumbled to myself.  
  
Talwyn ignored me, but I saw her smile. "Thanks, Kronk. And bring some aspirin too."  
  
She sat next to me on the couch when she was done. I purposefully gave her something between an annoyed and confused look when she looked me over once again.  
  
"Take a picture, why don't you?" I huffed but it sounded more sulky than anything.  
  
She rolled her eyes but relaxed. "Sorry. I'm just... I'm glad you're ok."  
  
I leaned my head against the backrest. "Define 'ok'."  
  
"Well;" She said, as if she was gonna give a lesson. "You're not bleeding, missing any limbs, or coughing up a lung."  
  
"You don't really have a very high bar for being 'ok' do you?" I raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
She gave a soft laugh. "You're also obviously feeling well enough to complain. That's always a good sign. Now, if you were sitting there without any kind of retort, _then_ I'd be worried."  
  
I couldn't help grinning at her, although it was a little half-hearted. I turned to rest my cheek against the backrest instead, looking in the direction of the kitchen.  
  
"I guess Clank's not too impressed with me right now, huh?"  
  
"He was worried," She said sympathetically. "I mean, we all were but... you disappeared and didn't take him with you, or even tell him you were leaving. He was convinced you were in trouble of some kind."  
  
I sat up again. My shoulders were starting to ache from the odd angle. "Sorry if I scared you guys."  
  
She stared at me with her sharp blue eyes. "What happened, Ratchet?"  
  
I started to reply when I heard Clank come back. I turned towards him, eager to try to explain myself. I stopped when I saw he was carrying a glass. He stood himself in front of me and held it out, a stern expression on his face. I chuckled and gave my head a shake but took it and drank. The water felt like it was freezing my throat solid as it went down, but within two seconds I'd downed the whole thing. As I drained the last of it, I felt the shift as Clank climbed up to sit on the other side of me.  
  
I put the glass down on the coffee table. I was still thirsty but I figured I'd grab something else later.  
  
"So, how'd you guys find me?" I asked again, leaning my elbows on my knees as I turned to him.  
  
"Well, first I woke up and noticed you were gone," Clank started. "I did not think much of it, but I noticed you had left your wrench as well as your nav-unit. That did not seem normal. So I went looking for you around the station."  
  
"We couldn't find you," Talwyn added. "And what was weird was that Aphelion was still in the hangar. So at first we thought maybe you'd gone out to the asteroids for some weird reason."  
  
"Really," I said, giving her a look.  
  
She shrugged. "Hey, I dunno what it is you get up to in your free time! You always seem to find the weirdest ways to get yourself into something dangerous."  
  
"Anyway..." Clank went on. "After we were sure you were not on the station or any of the asteroids surrounding it, we started wondering if perhaps you had left using a different ship. So we checked the station's docking records for last night, and we found the identification number for Mr. Apogee's ship. It had logged itself in and, about 10 minutes later, logged itself out again."  
  
"So we figured dad had come to pick you up for some reason and you'd left with him," Talwyn picked up the story again. "So we erm... _talked_ about where the two of you would go." The last sentence was said with a sideways frown towards Clank. He gave her a look in return but spoke to me instead.  
  
"I was convinced that you had run into trouble. It is not like you to go somewhere unarmed, even if you were not going to tell me where you were going. I felt it was best to try to find you to make sure everything was alright."  
  
"I didn't think it was a big deal," Talwyn interrupted. "I mean, you were probably with my dad... but It was a bit strange. So we decided to go looking anyway."  
  
"The Zoni temple was somewhere that seemed like a good start," Clank said, ignoring Talwyn's annoyance. "It was a large ruin that the man on television had said had lombax influence in its design. We thought perhaps Max had taken you there for some reason."  
  
"Only when we got there, the place had... gone," Talwyn said, turning back to me. "There was a giant hole in the ground where it'd been and only a few destroyed sections of it left! That's when we saw that... _thing_ walking over the horizon."  
  
"We decided that that was exactly the signature kind of trouble you and I are known for causing," Clank gave me a smile.  
  
"So we followed it and caught sight of you next to that big satellite dish," Talwyn finished. "And the rest you know."  
  
I nodded. "Lucky break, huh? Glad you didn't decide to check Igliak first or something."  
  
"No kidding." Talwyn gave a half-laugh. "But now it's your turn. What happened? I'm guessing it was my dad that woke you up, right? Or... someone using his ship? Why didn't you take your wrench? Or tell anyone?"  
  
I took a deep breath, running a hand over my face. I wondered what was taking Kronk so long with the aspirin.  
  
"It's... not a good story."  
  
"You still need to tell us," Talwyn urged.  
  
I shook my head. "No I mean... it's not a good situation. At all." I sat back again, crossing my arms over my chest as I tried to pick my words before saying them.  
  
"So... I guess I should start with last night," I said reluctantly. As if to try to give me an excuse to stop, my head began to pound a little harder. Both Clank and Talwyn were staring at me as if I was gonna disappear again if they looked away.  
  
"Ok." I nodded, mostly to myself. "Well... Max woke me up and said he needed my help with something in his ship. It sounded urgent so I followed him quickly. That's why I didn't take my wrench or tell any of you."  
  
"But why did you not come back when you decided to leave?" Clank asked. Clank was not good at hiding unhappiness and he stared at me with clear disappointment.  
  
"I never meant to leave," I said, turning to stare at the screen of the TV in front of us instead. They were quiet as I gathered myself to take the plunge.  
  
"I followed Max to his ship to help him with... I can't remember. Something. But when I got there I was knocked out."  
  
Talwyn's eyes went wide. I felt the tension in the room change.  
  
"By who?!" She asked before I could say any more. "What happened to my dad?!"  
  
"That's the thing." I avoided her gaze, scratching absentmindedly at one of my cheeks. "I woke up in the trunk of the ship a little later. And when we landed, it turned out he's the one who hit me."  
  
She said nothing. I didn't look at her, afraid I might lose track of what I needed to tell them if I did. I stared at the blank tv instead as I slowly retold them everything that'd happened. It was hard. Not only because I could feel every change in emotion from Talwyn, but also because I had to bite my tongue on how I felt towards Max when this'd happened. I didn't tell her how I felt betrayed right down to my very core and how angry and hurt I was by all of this. I didn't tell her how much I'd hated him at that moment in time. I didn't tell her how I felt like once again, someone I trusted had turned on not only me, but everyone else I knew as well. I didn't tell her how the image of her face was the reason I didn't let her dad shoot me.  
  
Eventually I got to the end. I told them how I'd been thinking of climbing down before I heard Aphelion's engines and saw them. I stopped at this point, but I still avoided looking at her. I stared at the black screen instead. I realised I could see her reflecting in it. She wasn't looking at me either. She was staring ahead of herself. Her expression looked dull. I wondered if she was staring at my reflection too.  
  
After a few moments, she got up. It was then I finally turned to look her in the face again, but she didn't look back. She stood in place, as if trying to decide what to say or do. Then she turned and walked out of the room. It wasn't a furious march, or a tearful run. It was just an empty, hollow walk. I heard her footsteps go down a hallway towards her room. I heard the door open and then close again. a Vague memory came back to me of her doing something similar once before. I remembered last time it had also been because of something I'd said. I remembered hearing her cry through the door before I turned and walked away.  
  
I propped my arms on my thighs and buried my face in my hands, shaking my head to myself slowly. There was silence again and I remained where I was, unsure of how to feel or what to do.  
  
"He knocked you out," Clank said eventually.  
  
I gave a slow nod but didn't raise my head. It was hurting again, as if reminded by his words to do so.  
  
"Did he do anything else?" Clank asked carefully. "Now that Talwyn is out of the room?"  
  
I thought for a moment. I pulled myself up again, folding my hands over my chin instead.  
  
"He hit me again when we got to that thing's control room or whatever the heck it was suppose to be. Otherwise, just some pushing and shoving."  
  
"Hmm," Clank said. Experience told me it was anger building up in him, despite how quiet he seemed on the outside.  
  
I gave a half-shrug. "Nothing really."  
  
Clank nodded at this, as if pulling himself away from his own thoughts.  
  
"I am glad you are alright," He said sincerely.  
  
I managed a smile and a nod. "a Little beat up, but yeah. I'm ok." I gave him a look out the corner of my eye. "D'you believe me this time?"  
  
He nodded again. "I do. But I think you need some rest before we try to deal with this any further."  
  
I shifted to get up, bed in the forefront of my mind. "I'm not gonna complain. I feel like crap."  
  
"You look it," He agreed, climbing off the couch. "I will try and find information on what has happened to that temple. That way you do not have to worry about anything getting out of hand while you get some sleep."  
  
"Sure thing." I nodded as I stood up. I turned to stare the way Talwyn had gone. "D'you think I should... talk to her?"  
  
"I do not know," Clank said, following my gaze.  
  
I stared at the hallway for a few minutes before I turned and walked the opposite way towards my room. I wanted to help her, but I wasn't sure I was the one she wanted to see right now. Clank followed me. I caught him staring at my sprained ankle. The limp was obviously bothering him.  
  
"Could you go see what's taking Kronk?" I asked as I sat down on my bed, picking up my wrench from the top of the set of drawers and putting it beside me where it was easier to reach.  
  
"No problem," He said, giving me a glance over his shoulder as he left.  
  
I didn't wait for him to come back. I fell asleep within moments.  
  


* * *

  
  
I woke up slowly. I was still tired and at first couldn't figure out why I wasn't still asleep. Something must've woken me up. I shifted, rolling over to look at the rest of the room. It didn't take much searching. Green eyes stared up at me patiently.  
  
"Hey," I yawned, pushing myself up to a sit groggily.  
  
I noticed that I felt much better. I was still tired but I didn't ache any more. In fact I didn't ache at all. My head felt clear, my arms felt rested, and I my ankle seemed fine. No way sleep did all that.  
  
"I'm guessing you found Kronk... or I've been asleep for a month," I said, rotating a wrist experimentally.  
  
"You took a full dosage of nanotech, but other than that you seem to be fine. I did not see a reason to wake you up," He said. "And no. You have only been asleep for an hour. I came to wake you because I contacted the Polaris Institute for Archaeological Research. I believed they would have some knowledge as to what is happening on Otani."  
  
"Any luck?" I stood up, looking around for some clean clothes.  
  
"I told them everything we know and what we have seen, as well as Mr. Apogee's involvement. I... do hope that was right?"  
  
I sighed but gave a nod. "No point trying to hide it from them. Probably better that you told 'em than Talwyn. I'm in no mood to deal with admin type things myself right now."  
  
He nodded, relieved. "Well, after I had told them everything, they said they would search through their records to try and piece together what is going on. They said they would like to talk to you in an hour's time. That was an hour ago." He tilted his head slightly. "Sorry."  
  
I groaned but nodded as I left the room, the shower calling me from down the hall. "I can't really ignore them, I guess. Besides, I wanna get this thing stopped. I dunno what it is or what it does but I just know it's gotta be bad news."  
  
"It is always bad news," Clank remarked as he followed me part of the way.  
  
"Sucks doesn't it? If they call while I'm busy, tell 'em to hold," I said as I closed the door behind me.  
  
Finally clean, I at last felt like I was back to normal. Getting my helmet and harness on gave me a better sense of security and helped me feel like I was gearing up to handle this thing, although I wasn't sure how a nav-unit was gonna do much. I couldn't help but pull a face to myself as I realised I felt more prepared to deal with an enormous walking building than I was facing Max. He was still inside that thing. Unless he jumped, which I didn't believe was something he'd do. I knew I was probably gonna have to confront him once we went back, but I couldn't think of anything I'd be able to say. To be honest, I'd have been happy if the giant walking monster was the only thing we had to worry about. I think my priorities needed some serious readjusting.  
  
Once dressed, I went to the living room. I slowed when I saw Talwyn sitting on the armrest of the couch. I suddenly felt awkward, like I'd lost control of my arms and my tongue tied itself into a knot.  
  
"Hey," I said as I walked over to her. Even the 'hey' sounded stupid to me.  
  
"Hi," She said. She turned to look at me. That was a good start.  
  
"Erm..." I gave a meaningless shrug. "You er... ok?"  
  
She shook her head, turning back to the tv. "Not really."  
  
I didn't reply. I flitted my gaze to the screen for a moment, watching Clank talk to some or other official looking person. I sighed and turned back to her, unable to let it go.  
  
"I'm real sorry, Tal."  
  
She shook her head again turning back to me, trying to give a smile despite herself. "It's ok, Ratchet."  
  
"But it's not really." I sunk in place.  
  
"No. It's not." She lifted her gaze again. "But it's not your fault."  
  
I rubbed one of my arms, feeling stupid. I knew she was right, and I didn't believe it was my fault anyway. And yet I still felt guilty somehow. Feeling guilty about something I didn't feel responsible for. Yep. Priorities seriously need some realigning. Or maybe sanity? I didn't even know.  
  
She sat up a little straighter, as if pushing the thought out of her mind before she nodded towards the tv. "They said they wanna talk to you about this."  
  
I gave a puff of a sigh and nodded. "Yeah I heard. Wish me luck, enh?"  
  
She smiled but didn't say anything. She seemed better than I expected, and yet I could feel that stab of sadness in every look she gave me and movement she made. I felt terrible for her. I almost felt like I wanted to start hating Max for causing this. My own sense of betrayal I could cope with. Watching other people get hurt was not something I was good at letting slide.  
  
I shook it off, literally, as I came to stand next to Clank who took a step to the side so we could both be seen.  
  
 _"Ah! There you are!"_ the official looking person said when he saw me. He was a robot and by the looks of it, one built for office work.  
  
"D'you find anything on whatever the heck that thing strolling through the forest is?" I didn't feel like wasting time.  
  
 _"I wouldn't know."_ he said, pulling a pile of papers from somewhere off screen and flipping through them. _"I'm just here to keep you on the line until I can transfer you to the president and the head of Research."_  
  
I put a hand over my face, pinching the bridge of my muzzle. "Please tell me you mean the president of the institute or whatever it's called."  
  
 _"No. no I mean the actual president,"_ He said, putting the papers down again. _"I believe both of them are back from lunch in his office. Patching you through."_  
  
"Wait," I tried to stall. "Isn't there someone else we could-"  
  
 _"Hello there, faithful sidekicks!"_  
  
My head decided to forget it'd been fixed and started to pound again for all it was worth.  
  
 _"I hear you've been out there exposing the evils of cultural heritage sites!"_ The beaming figure of Qwark gave us a thumbs up. _"Good job! I always knew there was something sinister about those places."_  
  
"Getting the place to stand up and walk away wasn't exactly something I had planned, Qwark," I sighed.  
  
"Have the researchers managed to learn anything about what it is?" Clank interrupted.  
  
 _"Well, I let the king egghead here explain it to me, but frankly it sounded too textbooky."_ He leaned forward as if the person standing beside him wouldn't be able to hear if he did. _"He's kind of a nerd. I'm more a man of action, so I thought you might be able to deal with the nitty gritty of the situation."_  
  
"So why are you here?" I asked, crossing my arms.  
  
 _"Why?! Have you forgotten the people of this great galaxy have re-elected me as your president and residential hero?"_ This statement was accompanied by some chest inflation and hands going to his hips for added effect. _"It's my JOB to make sure everything is going well with my tender flock. After all, I'm the one everybody looks to for guidance and strength! Not that I expect the duties of being a public figure would be understood by those who will never have to suffer that pressure."_ This last bit was said with an excess of melodrama.  
  
I ignored the fact that he didn't actually answer my question and instead focused on the other person in the room. A much smaller man that seemed to be a Tharpod. I'd been seeing more of them around since we'd sorted out the mess on Magnus. I'd say he didn't look very old but Tharpods have ridiculously long lifespans so I honestly had no idea how old he really was.  
  
"Great, Qwark. Who's your friend?" I tried to change the subject.  
  
 _"This is Dr. Faversham. He runs the group of scientists at the Institute for really smart guys. He said this thing you woke up is pretty ugly. Go on, tell these guys about it."_ He gave the guy a backslap that was mostly a push forward.  
  
The academic gave him a very ugly look that went completely unnoticed before he turned his focus on me and Clank, clearing his throat.  
  
 _"Yes. Well. I am the head of the Institute for Archaeological Research in Polaris."_ He reintroduced himself just in case we didn't figure it out the first time. _"After your associate contacted us and informed us of what's been happening on Otani, we've been scouring our records to find some historical account we could compare this with."_  
  
"And?" I raised an eyebrow impatiently.  
  
He seemed a little annoyed at my lack of being impressed. _"Well, we've managed to find some good news and bad news. The good news is that, because we dated the Lombax architecture on the zoni temple as being added roughly 30 years ago, we could narrow down our search considerably, and taking into account that you said you eventually reached a core that seemed to have been constructed by the Cragmites, we could focus our attention on a specific period of time within our rough estimate. Because of this we were able to narrow it down to a few accounts recovered from near the end of the Great War that we feel refers to what you discovered."_  
  
I listened closely, but mostly I just waited for him to finish so I could ask: "And the bad news?"  
  
 _"Ah. Well."_ he cleared his throat again. _"I'm afraid the bad news is what this thing actually does."_  
  
"And what does it do?" Clank asked eagerly.  
  
 _"We went through what we had and found the temple could, in fact, be a Cragmite weapon built near the end of the war during the stalemate,"_ He started. I was gonna tell him to get to the point but decided to hear him out. If we had to go back there, something he said might be important. You never know. _"The weapon was code-named 'The Switch'. Supposedly it was a walking transmission station with a satellite protruding from its highest point and had eight or so legs it could use to move its location."_  
  
"Sounds like our walking temple to me." I nodded, sitting down on the coffee table as I listened.  
  
 _"That's what we thought. Our records of it come from surviving Lombax documents, which seem to suggest at some point they managed to capture the weapon and hid it as far away from the Cragmites as they could. Seems they thought using the ruins of an old zoni temple on a primitive planet was as good a hiding place as they could find for something its size."_  
  
"But why did they not try and use it against the Cragmites themselves?" Clank asked.  
  
 _"Well that's where this whole thing gets us all in a very bad situation,"_ The man continued, lacing his fingers. _"The reason the transmission station is mobile, is because it's been designed to find a clear line of signal to broadcast to without the need of a pilot or remote control. Its satellite dish is huge, but it needs to find an orbiting satellite or different transmission station that's connected to the rest of the galaxy in order to send its signal. That's probably also the reason the lombaxes put it on the most remote and primitive planet they could find. Reports say they did try to destroy the thing, but initial attacks on it were unsuccessful, and they were more concerned about keeping it out of Cragmite reach than they were dismantling it."_  
  
"That is the second time you have not answered my question," Clank frowned, putting his hands on his hips. "What does it do and why did the Lombaxes not try and use it against the Cragmites?"  
  
 _"Well, mostly because the Cragmites didn't design it to attack the Lombaxes. Not directly anyway,"_ Dr. Haversham said, setting his jaw in annoyance. _"With the stalemate drawing long, it seems the Cragmites decided to try and find a way to cripple the Lombaxes rather than just try and power through them. The Lombax race is not known for its physical strength or size. It seems the Cragmites were trying to remove the thing which gave them their edge; namely technology."_  
  
"Charming." I pulled a face at this. "So what? This thing sends out a virus? An EMP of some kind?"  
  
 _"Something like that."_ The archaeologist nodded. _"Only instead of disabling some of their opponents' weapons or vehicles, the virus carried by their 'Switch' is more like a mass kill code. It's designed to infect all artificial frequencies and eradicate them. Think of it as... if it were an organic virus, it would target neurological transmissions sent out by the brain and follow them back to their source and destroy what it found."_  
  
 _"So... it's like a zombie telephone call that eats brains?"_ Qwark interrupted.  
  
 _"If you really want to simplify it that much. Yes. But in this case, it targets synthetic frequencies and command codes."_  
  
"So the Cragmites were going to destroy every piece of technology the Lombaxes had with this thing?" I stood up again. I didn't like the picture this was painting for me.  
  
 _"Not exactly. If it could tap into a large enough network the thing could, theoretically, wipe out all technological frequencies galaxy wide, Lombax or not. Why risk any other species trying to take the Lombaxes place, right?"_  
  
"That's insane." I stared at the man's face, wide-eyed. "They'd permanently cripple the whole galaxy just to get a step ahead in this stupid war?" I was about to rant further when a terrible thought hit me. "Wait... so this thing, if it finds a way to broadcast off-world, is gonna kill everything with a computer brain? Like... _everything?!"  
  
"That is the idea, yes."_ He nodded, giving me an irritably frown at how slow I sounded.  
  
My stomach gave a roll as my mind filled in the blanks as to what something like that would mean if there was a chance, however small, that it found a way to broadcast.  
  
"Are you alright?" Clank's voice added a stabbing period to the thought. "You suddenly look sick."  
  
I turned away from the screen for a moment to look at him. He was staring at me with something between concern and bemusement, unsure what to make of my sudden change in mood. I had no idea if he was on the same page as I was at that moment. On the one hand, He's a very smart guy, on the other, he was also extremely naïve at times.  
  
"No," I answered in a tense voice. "I'm not alright." I narrowed my eyes and turned my full attention back to the screen, glaring at the archaeologist. "How do I kill it?"  
  
 _"Information's a little sketchy on that detail,"_ He said with the same nonchalance as before. Now however, it was starting to cause the growing anger in me to burn. I wanted a straight answer. I wanted a plan of action. I wanted this thing _dead._  
  
"Well let's unsketch it then," I said, not even worrying about how stupid a sentence that was. "Can we blow it up?"  
  
 _"Evidence would say 'no',"_ He answered, picking up an electronic clipboard and paging through its contents. _"Apparently, the outer structure was built to withstand fire from anything smaller than a planet buster. Chances are, anything big enough to break through it would burn the planet's atmosphere to nothing at the same time."_  
  
"So how do we stop it?" I snapped, rather loudly but I didn't care at that point.  
  
Faversham gave me a look as if I was something stuck to the bottom of his shoe. I glared at him as if I was trying to set him on fire through the screen. He blinked first.  
  
 _"It seems the lombaxes were busy developing a kill switch for the machine before they hid it away. We don't know if the device was ever completed, but we know it was past the prototype phase and was busy being implemented in the machine itself before the Switch went 'missing'."_  
  
"And where is this thing now?" I asked.  
  
 _"We don't know,"_ Haversham said, trying to gain some sense of superiority again. _"But if it were used, it couldn't be done very far from the Switch itself. Once finished it seemed to be have been intended to be put inside the lombaxes' added on sections to the existing Cragmite design."_  
  
"So it's inside that thing if it's anywhere," I summed up with a stiff nod. "Got it."  
  
I turned, determined to head straight to my ship when Qwark quickly muscled himself back into frame. _"Woah there, my eager young compadre! There's still one tiny detail you oughta know!"_  
  
"Qwark. I really don't care right now," I said, turning back to the screen. "Tell me when I get back."  
  
 _"Well, I would care if the Polaris government was holding me responsible for this but-"_  
  
"WHAT?!" All three of us in the room blurted out together.  
  
Qwark physically flinched and pushed Faversham in front of himself, as if he'd somehow shield his massive bulk from us.  
  
 _"Hey I'm just the messenger here!"_  
  
"You're the President!" Talwyn yelled, getting off the couch's armrest and moving into frame. "You're blaming Ratchet for all of this?! Are you crazy?! He got bashed on the head, stuffed in a trunk, and dragged to that place! Last I checked that's what you call 'kidnapping'! And you're gonna somehow twist that into this being his fault?!"  
  
"Relax Talwyn." I stared at her in shock.  
  
 _"We're not saying it's ENTIRELY his fault!"_ Qwark gave her a nervous grin. _"But er... the guys in suits here say there's no way this Max guy would've been able to start that thing without his help. Right?"_  
  
I snapped my gaze to him at this, speechless.  
  
"That is unreasonable!" Clank interrupted before Talwyn could continue. "You are saying it is his own doing that he was kidnapped?"  
  
 _"Hey, I'm not saying anything!"_ Qwark waved his hands in front of himself dramatically. _"I'm just telling you what the guys under me said!"_  
  
"But you're suppose to be the president!" Talwyn yelled again.  
  
 _"I'd like to think of myself as more of a... leader in morale."_ His hands worked faster than his mouth. _"I mean, where's the time in the day to work out who's responsible for what when there's high society lunches that need attending! It's up to me to let the high-class know their president is there to test the shrimp and make sure it's up to standard!"  
  
"Besides, if I may interject,"_ Dr. Faversham didn't bother waiting for permission. _"It IS true, isn't it? My researchers weren't able to get any of those deeper doors open, let alone turn the thing on. I'm guessing Max ah, escorted you to the location to get past these obstacles?"_  
  
"Considering that Mr. Apogee was armed, what would you suggest he have done?" Clank crossed his arms, glaring at the tharpod.  
  
The Archaeologist shrugged again. _"Refuse?"_  
  
"And suppose Mr. Apogee is more unstable than we believed and used his weapon?!"  
  
 _"Considering we're facing the possibility of eradication of all robotic life...?"_  
  
"You're sick," Talwyn spat. "And you're even worse!" She added, stabbing a finger towards Qwark. He pushed Faversham a little closer towards her, as if Talwyn could physically attack him through the screen.  
  
 _"All I'm saying,"_ Faversham pulled himself out of Qwarks' grip irritably, _"Is that your friend technically didn't HAVE to assist Mr. Apogee in this foolishness."_  
  
"Can't argue with that," I spoke up, pulling my gloves on a little tighter.  
  
They all turned to me, most of them looked shocked.  
  
"You're not serious, are you?!" Talwyn stared at me.  
  
I gave a shrug. "I didn't know all this stuff while I was down there. Maybe I'd have done things differently if I did. I just worked with what I knew at the time."  
  
"Yes but they can not blame you for that!" Clank argued.  
  
 _"Well it... kinda seems like they can,"_ Qwark said, straightening himself a little now the situation seemed to be getting under control again. _"The Polaris government is gonna hold Ratchet responsible for all of this, by himself if they can't get their hands on Max. Unless of course,"_ He gave me a sideways glance. It wasn't hard to figure out the expression. Qwark wasn't very subtle. _"You go in and fix it?"_  
  
I gave a sigh, shaking my head wearily. "In other words, if I don't go back there and save your butts again, They're gonna blame it all on me. Am I getting this right?"  
  
 _"Saving the galaxy is a duty!"_ Qwark pointed a finger skywards meaningfully. _"Perhaps you'd understand better if you had my experience, but you should feel privileged the government thinks so highly of your skills! And if you end up getting killed in the process, we'll be sure to build you a statue and give the kids a day off school."_  
  
"You're not gonna put up with this, are you?!" Talwyn snapped at me.  
  
I gave her a weak shrug. "What am I suppose to do? Just let that thing find a freak drifting satellite in its range and kill half the galaxy's population?"  
  
"No but..! This isn't fair!"  
  
"Like it ever is?" I cracked my knuckles before giving my hands a shake, turning to head towards the stairs. In truth, I was more interested in fixing this mess than I was about whose fault it was. "Tell... whoever's running the galaxy I'll deal with this, they don't have to pop a gasket."  
  
 _"Good luck, Ratchet!"_ Qwark gave me an intensely annoying salute. _"And remember, you're not just doing this for your galaxy, you're also doing it for your president!"_  
  
"D'you think we should remind him I'm not really from this galaxy?" I asked no-one in particular as the screen switched itself off with the call ending.  
  
"I still can't believe you're letting them order you around like this!" Talwyn gave me a glare.  
  
"I was gonna go and try to stop it anyway," I shrugged again.  
  
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" She crossed her arms, the glare intensifying.  
  
"That Faversham guy said the lombaxes were trying to build some kind of override for it, right? If it's got such a short-range, it's gotta be inside that thing somewhere. Best I can do is try to find it and hope it works... and that it's not broken after all these years."  
  
"So you're gonna run headfirst into this thing and hope it all works out?" She snapped, uncrossing her arms again.  
  
"If you've got a better idea I'd love to hear it!" I frowned at her, eager to get going. "If I can't find it I'll... I dunno... see what kind of wiring I've got to work with. I'll stop it somehow."  
  
"My dad's still in that area right? Maybe we could.. I dunno... ask him to stop it or... or something!" Her eyes searched the floor as she spoke.  
  
My shoulders sank. "Tal. He's the one who switched it on in the first place."  
  
"But he didn't know what it does!" Her gaze met mine again. "I'm sure if we explain it to him he'll understand! He knows more about this stuff than we do! I know he can do something to help!"  
  
I thought back to the gun-barrel pressed to my temple.  
  
"Talwyn... I don't think he's going to care..." I said it as gently as I could.  
  
She gave her head a tight shake. "Tell him they're trying to blame all this on you! Tell him if you don't stop it they're gonna hold you responsible!"  
  
"Listen to me." I took a step or two over to her again. "It won't matter to him."  
  
"How do you know?!" He voice cracked as she yelled. "He's not a monster, Ratchet! He's not some super-villain trying to destroy the galaxy!"  
  
"I know," I nodded. "But... you didn't hear him down there. He's obsessed with this thing, Tal. I don't think he's thought of anything else in the last 10 years besides getting inside it and seeing what it can do. He's not gonna want to hear what we have to say."  
  
I could see her shoulders shaking. "He's my dad, Ratchet!"  
  
I almost flinched at this. "I know."  
  
She shook her head, putting her face in her hands. I didn't know what to say. There wasn't anything I could think of that'd help. Not unless I was gonna lie. I shifted my weight where I stood, unsure of what to do. I'd never seen her this wrecked about anything. I didn't know how to handle it, and as the moments ticked by my anxiety grew stronger and stronger as I pictured the walking satellite dish somehow finding a way to broadcast off-world. The expression 'feeling torn' had never been more fitting.  
  
I sunk where I stood, swallowing as if that'd clear my awkwardness away. "I need to get going."  
  
She sniffed, straightening again and wiping at her face. "I can't go with you."  
  
I frowned softly. If she'd asked to come I'd have told her 'no', but I'd been preparing to argue with her about it. I'd expected her to insist on coming along.  
  
"You're just gonna stay here?" I asked.  
  
She gave her head a hard shake. "He's... he's my dad. I can't... ..I can't go with you. I don't want... ..I don't want to see this."  
  
I stared at her for a moment before I turned to the side and gave a nod.  
  
She didn't look at me as she turned, wrapping her arms around herself as she walked towards her room, her head hung. I watched her walk all the way to her door and go inside before I turned and headed for the atrium.


	17. Return

I ran plans through my head as I walked. If this override machine was in the temple I would need to find it and fast. Chances are, any instructions or labels were gonna be in lombax, which was gonna be a problem. That's if it was finished and could actually turn on. If not, I was gonna have to improvise and do a jerry-rig or something. Not that there was a lot of technology inside that temple to work with. Bringing parts with me didn't seem like a good idea. They'd weigh me down if I needed to move quickly and I had no idea if they'd even be compatible with lombax tech. If there wasn't any device at all, I was gonna have to find another way to stop that thing. I thought about the control centre I'd seen and if I could work out a way to disable it. If all else failed, I could blow the thing up. Faversham said explosions couldn't destroy it, but that was from the outside. If I could wreck the controls for the thing, that would hopefully be enough to stop it.  
  
I stepped into the elevator and leaned against one of its walls as I rode it to the hangar, thinking it over. When it stopped, I walked over to Aphelion and opened her cockpit. Only once I'd sat down in the pilot's seat did I realise I wasn't alone.  
  
"And where exactly are you going?" I asked, turning to frown at the passenger's seat.  
  
"You do not think this is going to be a solo mission, do you?" Clank asked, making himself comfortable.  
  
I shook my head, opening the cockpit again. "Uh-uh. No way. Out."  
  
"I am not going to sit here and do nothing while you go off and be reckless by yourself." He frowned back at me.  
  
"I don't want you getting close to that thing." I shot him an irritable look. "Come on, get out."  
  
"You do not think a geo-laser, heli-pak or someone who can get through narrow gaps would be useful in this situation?" He crossed his arms.  
  
"You bet he would. Now get out. I mean it, Clank. I don't want you near that thing!" My hands gripped the wheel tightly but I refused to close the cockpit.  
  
"You need it deactivated. You are perfectly aware of the fact that although you might be skilled with mechanics, if there is any software difficulties you will need me there." He didn't budge.  
  
"Clank just... please, ok?" I tapped he wheel with a palm absentmindedly. "I really don't want you anywhere close to this thing."  
  
"So you want me to do nothing?" He glared.  
  
"I want you to stay away from a giant spider whose sole purpose is to _kill_ you!" I snapped before I knew what I was doing. This shut him up immediately and he stared at me with round eyes. I could almost physically hear the gears click into place in his head.  
  
I gave a long, frustrated sigh. "Just... hang tight here."  
  
"I will not." The frown returned. "How is this different to all the other countless suicide missions you have taken us on?"  
  
"Because those other times it was both our butts on the line! But I'm not gonna drag you somewhere that's got a grudge against you!"  
  
"By that logic, every time you take us to a planet with a toxic atmosphere or an underwater facility I should refuse to take you and go on my own."  
  
"It's not the same thing!" I slapped the wheel in frustration. "I can _do_ things to keep myself alive in places like that! If this thing goes off I won't be able to do _anything!"_  
  
"If it does go off I do not think it will matter _where_ I am!"  
  
"How exactly do we know that?! The things so old maybe it's run out of enough juice to even get off-world! Look, I'm not gonna sit here and argue 'what ifs'! This thing kills synthetics! That's a fact, and I'm not taking you near it!"  
  
"You are being selfish!" He was starting to raise his voice.  
  
"I'm trying to keep you alive!"  
  
"As am I!"  
  
We glared at each other as I huffed angrily, my leather gloves making noise from my grip. Clank sat motionless as he scowled at me. He had the advantage, not needing to blink. I slumped back in the seat with a low growl.  
  
"I'm not gonna let you get killed-" I started to say, but the last of the sentence died as the same thing was said back to me in unison.  
  
There was an awkward pause as I didn't look at him, adjusting my grip as I frowned sheepishly at the dashboard.  
  
 _'"f Clank were to stay here, it would cripple your ability to deal with this,"_ A female voice interrupted. _"And if this signal is launched and it does not matter where he is, there will not be much difference in danger if he stays or goes. In fact, Clank's well-being rests on you succeeding. It makes more sense that he accompany you. Your potential for success is much higher together than it would be were you doing this alone."_  
  
I gave a sharp breath through my nostrils as I said nothing to this, but I cursed silently as I realised Aphelion was right.  
  
"It would be better for both our sakes, Ratchet," Clank drove the final nail home.  
  
I gave a long sigh, leaning my head back against the seat. I sat motionless for a second or so before I reached to the controls and closed the cockpit.  
  
"Ganging up on the organic isn't fair," I grumbled as I started to warm up the ship's thrusters.  
  
 _"You said this thing kills synthetics. I felt I had a right to voice an opinion."_  
  
"Yeah well... you both suck, is all I'm saying." I turned her around to face the doors.  
  
The jab was light-hearted, but in reality I felt so tense I was almost nauseous. I knew that if you were gonna follow logic, they were both right. But then I'd never been the logical one of us. I followed my gut, and right now it was telling me that this was a very, very bad move on my part.  
  
'I won't forgive you if anything bad happens,' my inner voice hissed at me. I pulled a grim face as I agreed with it, shooting out of the space station and setting a course for Otani.  
  
I gave Clank a run down of whatever scraps of plans I'd pieced together on the trip. He gave me his own opinions but we both decided that regardless of how things turned out, the first thing to do was to get back to the central control room. Having direction helped my anxiety a little, although in truth I was probably just pushing the reality of what this thing did out of my mind, because if I didn't, I'd stop at the first refuelling station and leave Clank there before going on on my own.  
  
I knew that technically it wouldn't have mattered if I did, but just knowing where I was taking him set me on edge. I was not someone who got set on edge easily, but I don't handle my friends being in danger very well. Mostly because I knew how easy it is to lose them if things went wrong. And if them getting in _trouble_ was something I didn't handle well, then losing them was something I couldn't handle _at all._  
  
Thinking about it caused bad memories to come back and I quickly suppressed them, focusing on some flight adjustments instead.  
  
Otani soon came into view and a few moments later we'd cleared the stratosphere so the green stretch of land below us became more recognizable as the jungle canopy. We swooped over the landscape a few times before we found the unmistakable trench of damage caused by the walking temple. After figuring out which end was which, we followed it until the black figure of the monster came into view over the horizon.  
  
It was early evening and the edges of the world were still burning purple as we made our approached. I gripped the wheel hard as I subconsciously expected AA guns to start firing at us. Nothing happened though. The marching steel and rock construction didn't acknowledge us any more than it did the forest it was crushing.  
  
I made some adjustments to Aphelion's course. "I'm gonna ask you to go on Auto-pilot for me. Drop us on the thing's roof and then follow it from the air. If we're gonna blow this thing up I don't want you in the blast range. Just don't fly off too far in case we need a quick getaway."  
  
 _"Of course. Good luck,"_ She answered as she flew to hover over the temple's flat roof, opening the cockpit.  
  
I clicked Clank into place before I dropped down, taking the roof at a roll as I tried to adjust my balance to its rocking. Aphelion's landing lights dimmed as she climbed and banked away to a safe distance. I waited a few minutes for my eyes to adjust as I looked the roof over, trying to piece together where I'd come from when I'd climbed it the day before.  
  
"What do we do now?" Clank asked, rather unlike him.  
  
"We're gonna climb down to the entrance and follow the way Max took me to the central control," I said as I walked along edge of the roof, peering over the side.  
  
"I do not suppose there is an entrance from above, is there?"  
  
"Nope," I said as I found where I was looking for. "Like we'd have that kind of luck."  
  
"Oh dear," He grumbled.  
  
"Still so sure about coming?" I grinned as I got a grip on the edge of the roof and carefully started to climb down to a safe enough height so I could drop to the level below.  
  
"Well, it is too late now, regardless."  
  
"It's easier going down than climbing up," I changed the subject as I tested a tree root to see if it was stable enough to climb.  
  
This was true enough. The cool evening air didn't hurt either, as I found my way back to the entrance in at least half the time it'd taken me to climb upwards.  
  
With no sunlight, the doorway was pitch black and howled in the rushing wind. The air inside had gone from merely being cool, like in the day, to having a chill to it.  
  
I felt like it'd be the time to give some kind of witty remark to pump us up before going inside the thing, but I couldn't think of anything, so I merely made an unimpressed noise as I turned on the light I'd fixed to my harness and walked into the dark.


	18. Through the Dark

Inside me tension and confidence were fighting to decide which emotion I was feeling the strongest. I didn't want Clank there, and yet I felt a lot better with him secured against my back. Part of me was glad he was nearby so I could keep an eye on him, while another part of me wanted him as far away from this place as possible. I let the confused feelings spin as I instead focused on not getting us lost.  
  
"Hmm," Clank mused after a while. "Interesting how part of the original temple has been used in the machine's construction. Do you think it was intentionally built this way, or perhaps the device itself somehow integrated into the surrounding structure beyond that of the lombax passages?"  
  
I gave a shrug. "Heck, I dunno. Doesn't really matter does it?"  
  
"Perhaps not, but it is still interesting."  
  
"Sure, pal," I smirked to myself.  
  
We passed through one of the halls with a caved in ceiling. Through it I could see stars coming out as the very last traces of daylight died away outside. I heard something small skitter away among the rubble of the roof when I passed it. I fingered my wrench's handle nervously.  
  
"Who do you think built the original temple?" Clank asked again after a few minutes. He was chatty, which wasn't really like him. I wasn't sure if it was because he was nervous too, or if he was trying to distract me from myself.  
  
"Dunno. It wouldn't be the zoni themselves, right?"  
  
"Why would they built a temple honouring themselves? That seems too narcissistic."  
  
"You know 'em better than I do," I said, giving one of the decaying frescoes a passing glance as I walked.  
  
"I wonder if there are any other ruins on this planet," He went on. "After this is all done with, I think it might be something worth investigating."  
  
"I'd rather go somewhere dry and with less crazy buildings," I said casually as I took a turn, double checking it to make sure it was the right way to go.  
  
Tiny gnats and other winged insects were starting to dance around my harness' light and I had to swat them away every few minutes. I kept my wrench out in case anything else had decided to hide in the temple for the night that was bigger than a bug. So far we seemed to be lucky though, and nothing bigger than a cat-sized cockroach ran away from us as we walked.  
  
The sounds inside the temple were distracting. Apart from the drip of unseen water and the scratch of insect legs, very often there was the distant sound of rocks caving in on themselves or the groan of metal taking strain somewhere. I kept a hand against a wall as I walked, always aware that the ceiling above us might suddenly decide to fall.  
  
"I am worried," Clank spoke up a few minutes later.  
  
I snorted before laughing. "Really? You're only worried now?"  
  
"I just thought of something," He said, ignoring me. "This device is designed to disable all machines and computers within its range, is it not?"  
  
My smile faded as I gave a nod. "That's suppose to be the idea, yeah."  
  
"...Do you suppose it would disable the Great Clock?"  
  
I slowed to a stop. I hadn't thought of the giant pacemaker to be honest, but Clank had a point. It's not like the time-keeper was common knowledge, and I doubted the Cragmites knew about it when they were around or they'd probably have gone to try and capture it or something. I didn't think they'd try to disable it with their signal if they knew what it did though. Killing themselves along with everyone else didn't really seem like their style.  
  
I picked up my pace again. "Dunno. It's not exactly your every day machine, is it?"  
  
"But it is a machine nonetheless."  
  
"Is it even in range of anything? It's not like it gets daily transmissions or anything right?"  
  
_"You_ managed to get a signal to it." He pointed out.  
  
I said nothing for a moment before I squared my shoulders and sped up. "Yeah well, it doesn't really matter if this thing can break it or not. We're gonna stop it so there's no point worrying."  
  
"Perhaps you are right."  
  
"You know it." I put on a confident face. "It doesn't change anything."  
  
"It was just a thought."  
  
"Well instead of thinking about stuff like that, why don't you think about what the heck we're suppose to say to Max when we see him again," I said with a more serious tone.  
  
"I do not think we can reason with him, Ratchet."  
  
"I'm not going to reason with him. I'm gonna ask him to show us where the override device is."  
  
"If he knows. And even if he does, I am not sure it is worth it to ask." His voice had a slight bite to it.  
  
"He's Talwyn's dad, Clank," I said flatly.  
  
"He is also the one responsible for all of this."  
  
I didn't say anything to this for a minute.  
  
"I know, but it's still worth trying," I added eventually.  
  
"I do not know if I agree, but I suppose we have to start our search somewhere." I could almost hear the eye-roll in his voice.  
  
After a while the hallway opened up to the flooded room again. Now with a light on the water's surface I could actually see the waves the rocking temple was making, as well as ripples from dust raining down. I turned my light to the ceiling. It'd cracked. Although still in one piece, lines ran across it in chaotic patterns. Every time there was the rumble of one of the building's legs hitting the ground, new pebbles and pieces of rock splashed into the water as if daring us to go further.  
  
"Just for the record, this is a really dumb idea," I said as I stepped down into the pool and started wading across it, holding my arms high to keep my gloves and wrench out of the water.  
  
"At least no-one is shooting at us," Clank pointed out.  
  
"To be honest, I think I'd prefer it," I grumbled. "At least I know how to cope with something like that. I'll be in a better mood once we're out of his little mousetrap."  
  
"Would a maze not be a better comparison?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"A mouse in a maze."  
  
I made a noise. "Whatever."  
  
The rocking, which had some kind of rhythm up till now, suddenly lurched. I stumbled but managed to keep my balance. The floor pitched again sharply and I widened my stance, coming to a stop as I waited for things to settle down. There was a hiss as dirt showered the water's surface as well as a few loud splashes from stones. The lurching calmed back down to the slow rocking. I blew out a breath I'd been holding before I started wading the rest of the way.  
  
Before I could take the first step I heard something like a crack echo all around the room. My first instinct was to look up at the ceiling, but the steadily growing sound of stone grinding against stone wasn't coming from above me. There was another sound of weight giving way and another shower of dirt pulled my attention to one of the pillars in the room. When my light hit it I saw the lightning shaped damage running up along it. I also saw the top half of the pillar slowly slide sideways before another loud clap sounded and a large chunk of polished rock fell away from the structure. It started to shift, getting ready to topple. I felt my gaze getting pulled upwards along it to the part of the ceiling where it was attached. I could see more lines starting to appear around it while the already existing cracks widened. Within seconds a dangerously loud groan started.  
  
I swore loudly before turning back to the front and headed for the other side with something halfway between a run and an awkward wade in the deep water. The cracking sound grew louder and I heard another splash, this one sounding large as I felt a light spray hit the back of my ears. I sped up, my eyes locked on the other side of the pool.  
  
The pillar gave way. I heard it collapse in on itself but didn't turn to look. Sheets of water hit me from behind. I heard the sound of the ceiling following.  
  
"Ratchet, I do believe we need to speed up," A tense voice said on my back.  
  
"Working on it!" I snapped as I slid to a stop to prevent getting flattened by a boulder.  
  
As soon as it was down I clambered over it as fast as I could. The other side of the pool was so close. I just hoped the ceiling in the passage beyond it would hold.  
  
"The bulk of it is not going to hold much longer," Clank added, his tone of voice a little tighter.  
  
"I said I'm going!" I yelled as I moved.  
  
My luck didn't hold out and I felt something crash into me from above, causing sparks to explode in my vision. I lost my balance and slammed into the water as I felt the piece of weight's friends join me. My chin hit the pool's floor. I felt one of the rocks land heavily on my leg. I flinched but more from shock than pain. I scrambled to get back on my feet when I realised whatever had landed on me was refusing to move. I twisted around, trying to pull myself free. All the while I could hear the distorted underwater noise of things falling around me. An explosion of bubbles came out my mouth as I tried to wrestle the thing off with no luck. Something like the sound of an implosion happened and before I could turn to look what it was the full weight of the ceiling came down.  
  
It was a squall of confusion as the floor tilted and suddenly broke into pieces under my fingers. The rock on my leg tumbled away of its own accord and fell into a growing void of darkness behind me as the water rushed down to follow it. My hands scrambled as I forced myself forward almost on pure will alone. I found something that felt solid and gripped it with all the strength my hands had as everything else pulled me back towards the growing hole.  
  
I found myself above water again but with no floor to support me. I gave a cough and a splutter as I turned to watch the ceiling, water and floor all break apart and fall to the floors below, leaving us hanging over the edge of an enormous hole in the ground.  
  
My brain shifted back into gear and I climbed what I realised was the edge of the still-intact staircase. I got up on top of it as fast as I could before I turned to look down over the side of the newly formed crevasse.  
  
I broke into a breathless laugh. "Too close. That was almost us."  
  
"Wouldn't that have been a crushing development," Clank said before going into a fit of giggling, as he unclipped himself from my back and went to stand beside me. He seemed to be laughing more because of nerves than the bad joke.  
  
I shook my head at him and dropped to a sit, waiting for my heart to stop trying to force itself out my chest. "Well... we're not going back that way when we leave." I turned to look at him. "You didn't get hit, right?"  
  
"Not at all," He said, still inspecting the hole, squinting into the darkness.  
  
I nodded to myself. "Alright."  
  
Clank turned and reattached himself to the bolt on my harness. "We need to get this done with and leave this place."  
  
I gave a nod, pushing myself to my feet again, giving the remainder of the ceiling above us a paranoid glance. "No kidding. Let's get going before anything else decides to happen."  
  
I took the very first passage I found. I couldn't remember if it was the right one or not, but right now my goal was to get away from the weakened area. I stopped to shake excess water from my ears before walking on.  
  
The hallway we were walking down looked different to me, but I couldn't figure out if it was because I'd made a wrong turn, or if it was just the damage it'd gotten. Sometimes we'd come across a large section of wall that had fallen and we had to climb over piles of rubble to keep going. The signs of lombax handiwork started appearing on the walls again and I felt better about our direction. We reached a point where a large section of the passage had been destroyed, leaving a mountain of rocks and brass coloured gears blocking the way. With no other way, we climbed through a hole in the wall to the next passage over and kept going.  
  
I'd been expecting the place to be more stable when we reached the sections of it that'd been built by lombaxes and Cragmites and were actually part of the machine, but clearly 30 years of negligence hadn't helped the place. It felt less like an impenetrable fortress to me and more like a giant lumbering corpse. That somehow made it worse. The thing was a resurrected monster from a war that'd ended ages ago. Something that'd died with it brought back to life to cause pointless destruction and misery to a galaxy that no longer had either sides of the initial fight left.  
  
I pulled a face at myself for the overly poetic thoughts, reminding me of the stupid inscriptions these guys had left on the walls. I swore that if I ever found myself in that position, I was gonna write instructions in straightforward damn directions. 'Don't open this door. It'll kill all the robots'.  
  
I came to a stop, hitting a dead end. A quick search with my light revealed it to be a closed door, like the one Max had me open the day before. I checked the ceiling and walls surrounding it, making sure they were still intact before I pulled off a glove and placed a hand against the stone. There was a shudder and the slab started rolling upwards into the ceiling.  
  
"I'm pretty sure all these doors lead to the same place," I said as I put my glove back on. "When we got to the controls yesterday the room had a bunch of these doors leading into it."  
  
"I hope you are using your nav-unit to record our progress," Clank replied.  
  
"It's set to auto. But with how busted up this place is, I don't know if these passages are gonna stay open."  
  
"As long as we have an idea what is in which direction."  
  
I nodded as I walked through the doorway to the passage beyond.  
  
"Do you know what you are going to say to Max yet?" He added.  
  
I gave a small shrug. "Not really. I'm just gonna... explain it to him and hope he listens."  
  
"And if he does not?"  
  
"I'm gonna tell him to stay outta our way."  
  
"If he does not, you will have to consider what you are planning to do."  
  
I felt my expression harden. "I'll deal with it."  
  
"What if he decides to react first? Will there be time for you to hesitate about what you will do?"  
  
"I dunno, alright?" I turned my head to the side to grumble at him. "I'm not thinking that far ahead. I'll deal with things as they happen. If I try and plan it all out I'm just gonna end up confusing myself."  
  
"You said that when he brought you here, he had a blaster pointed at you," Clank pointed out with a tone of voice I didn't like at all.  
  
"Well this time I brought my own," I said sharply.  
  
"Will you use it?"  
  
I didn't answer, glaring at the spot of light ahead of me.  
  
"Will you use it, Ratchet?"  
  
"I dunno," I finally admitted.  
  
"He may not be as reluctant to use his," Clank said.  
  
I grit my teeth for a moment. "He didn't when he first brought me here."  
  
"You told me he struck you."  
  
"It's not the same thing. You don't get killed from getting decked," I insisted.  
  
"I just want you to be prepared for what might happen when we reach him."  
  
"I don't want to be prepared," I said. "I don't want to think about it. I'll be on my guard, but I'm not gonna plan for things that might not even happen."  
  
"Ratchet, I just want you-"  
  
"I appreciate the concern, pal, but just drop it, ok," I interrupted. It was a statement more than a request.  
  
"As long as you are aware of the possible danger."  
  
"I am... I'd just rather not think about it," I said, wishing he'd shut up.  
  
There was a pause as Clank seemed to try and decide whether to push the issue further.  
  
"It is just that I do not like this situation very much, and I am worried about your frame of mind going into it."  
  
"My frame of mind is that I hate this," I growled. "I hate coming here. I hate bringing you. I hate that it's Max who did all this. I hate that I actually like the guy. I hate everything right now."  
  
There was a pause. The sound of my boots crunching over the gravel and the distant rumbles and crashes amplified the silence.  
  
"You do not hate me though, right?"  
  
My train of thought derailed and I found myself laughing. "No, goofball, I don't hate you."  
  
"Just double checking. You can be quite unpleasant when you are in a bad mood."  
  
"Oh, like threatening to choke people is that much better," I grinned to myself.  
  
"Yeah well... ..yeah," I heard him sulk. "That was _one_ time..."  
  
I laughed at him as I climbed over another pile of rubble.  
  
After a short distance, the circle from my flashlight started reflecting back at me as it hit the metal of the wall in front of us. The brief lift in mood caved in again as my expression soured. I gripped my wrench a little tighter as I approached it.  
  
It was a different door, but it had the same burnt chrysanthemums on it of explosions from decades ago, as well as the black polished lombax lettering, warning people away. I stood staring at it for a moment, gearing myself up for what I knew was going to be a bad reunion.  
  
There was a slight tug as Clank dropped and walked to stand beside me, staring up at the door. I pricked my ears, trying to make out any sounds coming from beyond it, but I couldn't hear anything. I straightened my back before removing a glove again and pressed my hand against the cold steel. There was the almost now familiar sound of metal thunking into place somewhere beyond the door, before it slowly started sliding out of the way. The dark hallway was flooded with the green blinking lights from keyboards and screens as the central control room opened up in front of us.  
  
The room had transformed from resembling a tomb to looking a lot like the inside of a computer. The pulse of lights travelling along cables imbedded into the floor not helping the image at all. There were soft blips and clicks as well as a chorus of other technological sounds, only faintly accompanied by the dull rumble of the temple crumbling away from somewhere down the deeper passages.  
  
I walked into the room, my wrench raised with Clank keeping a close distance behind me, both our eyes focused on the central control dock. Green flashes of light shot upwards along the metal pillar that rose out of it and travelled beyond the glass ceiling.  
  
Max stood curved over it, staring unseeingly at the controls in front of him, his face stony and his eyes dark despite the reflection of the flashing lights in front of him. He stood rooted in place, as if he'd somehow become part of the machinery around him.  
  
When we entered his gaze turned to meet mine. The lines carved into his face hardened when he recognised me. He pushed himself off the controls, standing to his full height again as he turned to face us. He reminded me of one of those statues we had back on Kerwan of some or other historically important hero, staring cold and unfeeling at the people in front of it, carved from solid granite or perhaps worn away into polished brass through friction over time.  
  
He stared me down, his eyes flashing.  
  
I lowered my wrench.


	19. The Explorer

"Max..." I said, my voice betraying my emotions completely.  
  
He said nothing, glaring at me in disdain. When I'd left him yesterday, it'd almost been like he'd let me go. I still wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want me further involved, or if he simply had no more use for me. Whatever the case, he now stared at me as if I'd borrowed his ship and accidentally ran over his dog while backing into a tree. It wasn't just anger at me being there. There was something personal in his glare. He didn't even acknowledge Clank's presence in the room. His entire focus was on me. Part of me wondered if this was a good or bad thing.  
  
I gathered myself together as I stared back. I'd come in ready to try and reach him through whatever friendship we'd originally had, but one look at him and I knew it was pointless. I'd served my purpose and was now no longer wanted here. I wondered if this had somehow always been the case. If there'd ever been a time when he saw me as anything else apart from a means to an end.  
  
It didn't matter though. It should've, but it didn't.  
  
"We found out what this thing does," I said as I returned my wrench to the loop on my belt. "It's not good, Max."  
  
He continued to glare at me with no indication he'd heard what I said. I chewed on the inside of my cheek.  
  
"I know what it does," He replied eventually in a voice that sounded sandpapered.  
  
I stared back at him as a light frown started forming on my face. "You know it's gonna kill everything robotic if it gets to broadcast?"  
  
"I'm Max Apogee," He hissed at me. If the phrase was ever meant to be said with pride there wasn't any there. "I've been called the greatest explorer who ever lived. You think I didn't put two and two together ages ago?"  
  
I felt my mouth draw tight in anger. "And you led me down here to turn it on anyway."  
  
He turned away from me, his hands folding behind his back as he stared at the control hub. "I didn't know anything for sure. And I didn't care if that's what it does. My focus was on getting it to work. To be more than just a forgotten ruin on a primitive planet no-one's ever bothered to set foot on."  
  
My hands rolled into fists "We need to find the lombax override. If we don't stop this thing..." My voice died.  
  
I saw Max's shoulders rise with tension and his frown intensify but there was no other movement.  
  
"I need to stop this thing!" I said with more conviction. "The lombaxes built a kill-switch for it, right? If anyone knows where it is, it'll be you. Max, we can't let this happen."  
  
He turned back to me slowly. "Why would I tell you? D'you think I activated this thing just for the fun of it? I suspected this was the Cragmite weapon many years ago. Don't you think I'd have reconsidered doing this back then, when I first realised this? Or when we finally reached this central room?"  
  
He turned to face us properly again.  
  
"I was marooned here with nothing to do but study this place. Over and over again. For what? Nothing?!" He sucked in a breath, inflating his chest before he exhaled again. "I won't let that entire decade of my life turn into a meaningless waste. This is what it was leading to. This is the culmination of all those days and nights with no future in sight. I will make that time count for _something!"_ He ran his gaze along the length of the room, but there was no admiration or sense of accomplishment in his face. "I refuse to be a victim of circumstance. I will not let the biggest memory attached to my name be the 10 years of inaction and stagnation I spent fighting to survive in the middle of nowhere."  
  
"You're gonna be responsible for the biggest genocide in galactic history!" I yelled at him, unable to contain my emotions any longer. "You're going to _kill_ millions of billions of lives! For what?! Because you feel you've got some kind of self-inflicted destiny?! Because of your ego?!"  
  
"Ego has nothing to do with it!" he yelled back, his voice causing dust to shake loose from the ceiling. "I just want some validation! Some reason for all the pain and misery! Otherwise what was the point?! Why?! I refused to die in this tropical prison! I refused to waste away to nothing! I refused to let my time here be worthless! I wrote and recorded every crack and trench of this place until I was so sick of it I could choke! But I kept going because I would _not_ let it be meaningless! And now I have this chance to make that time have some kind of purpose to it! To actually be remembered for something beyond my misery! And if it has to be bloodshed, then that's what it has to be! But it will not be because of a pathetic tragedy! it will not be as a pitiful victim in a cautionary tale!"  
  
I shook my head but kept my eyes on him. "Alright! So fine! People know you've gotten into this place and even got it to switch on! So now help me stop it! I mean, this is crazy, Max! You're saying you'd rather destroy this galaxy and kill an ungodly amount of people than just... accept that your life kinda sucked for a while?!"  
  
He burst out laughing. It echoed all around the room and caused the panes of glass in the ceiling to vibrate. "That's the biggest understatement I've ever heard in my life!" He turned back to me, the bitter laughter dying away. "My life didn't 'suck' kid. My life _ended."_  
  
My eyes narrowed. I'd lost my patience. Both with him and his self-pitying delusions.  
  
"Where is the lombax override, Max?" I asked with an edge to my voice.  
  
He said nothing, merely steeling his gaze at me.  
  
I bit my tongue and turned around. "Fine. But if you're not gonna help us... then just stay out of our way. Because I'm not leaving until I've run this thing into the ground."  
  
"I won't let you do this, kid," He answered. His voice had a tremble to it and I looked back.  
  
He'd drawn his blaster and was pointing it directly at me. I turned to face him, my knuckles cracking as my fists tightened. I heard the click of metal on metal as Clank repositioned himself next to me. Not close enough to get hit, but close enough to react if anything happened, although I didn't know what he thought he could do.  
  
I hardened my frown as I stared at the explorer. "You're not gonna shoot me, Max."  
  
He bared his teeth and stuck the gun out a little further towards me. "Don't think you're gonna order me to do anything, lombax!"  
  
I flexed my fingers before curling them up again. "I'm not ordering anyone. But I know you're not gonna shoot me. Regardless of what you say, Max, I don't think you're a murdered. At least not face to face."  
  
The gun shook in his hand but he kept it pointed at my head. I heard the whir of metal as Clank tensed up, but I knew he wouldn't move unless I gave him some kind of signal. The barrel fell from my head to my chest but refused to go any lower.  
  
"You bastard," Max croaked bitterly.  
  
I said nothing in response, staring him down, praying my instincts were right. There wasn't gonna be a plan B for this one. Max let out a growl of frustration and threw the gun to the ground. It hit the metallic surface so hard I saw the glass container of plasma crack.  
  
I kept silent, not backing down. Max continued to glare at me with loathing so clear on his face he could've spat venom at me. He was trembling with anger, his teeth grit tightly as he breathed heavily. But he didn't move.  
  
I broke eye contact, turning to leave the room. He wasn't gonna help us. With painful clarity I realised, I never expected he would. But I'd at least hoped he'd listen. At least hoped some kind of realisation would happen and he'd register just what this thing would mean if it found a way to broadcast. I couldn't even get him to do _that_ for Talwyn. All I'd managed to do was expose just how twisted his world-view had become. It didn't make me feel better. It made me feel worse.  
  
 _"You Bastard!"_  
  
There was a stampede of heavy boots against stone and I turned to see the full bulk of the man barrelling down on me, murder in his eyes. I spun around to face him, my hand pulling my wrench free just as he launched his full weight forward. I readied myself for the impact, my arm swinging to deliver a counter-blow.  
  
A sudden explosion of cyan-coloured light blinded me and I turned away involuntarily, shielding my face with my arms. No-one crashed into me. The light eased up and I lowered my arms again, blinking rapidly.  
  
Max was still in mid-jump, his large hands outstretched to grab me, but he wasn't making any progress. He hung motionless in mid-air, glaring fire and brimstone at me. I saw the frown on his face grow deeper, but as if it was moving through syrup. I shifted my stance, taking note that my own movement felt normal and my initial thought, that the temple had launched it's signal, obviously wasn't what'd just happened.  
  
"To borrow a phrase; 'too close'," An unnerved voice said next to me.  
  
I turned to blink at him but said nothing, unable to get my voice to work. Clank sunk in place with something that might've been an exhale as he shook his hands. Small crackles of temporal energy discharged from them briefly before disappearing.  
  
I turned back to the unmoving form of Max. The time distortion hung around him like a bubble, glowing just a fraction lighter than the rest of the room. I swallowed at a dry lump in my throat and took a few steps to the side, out of the way of his halted jump. It'd been a while since I'd seen my friend use a time-bomb on someone. To be honest, I hadn't even been sure he could still do it. Glad I was wrong for once.  
  
Pulling myself together I frowned lightly at the inert explorer. I adjusted my grip on my wrench subconsciously.  
  
"Can he hear us?" I asked.  
  
"I suspect so," Clank said, giving Max one of the dirtiest glances I'd ever seen from him. "He can be grateful I restrained myself from hitting him with anything more damaging."  
  
I nodded to myself, taking a step closer to him, but staying clear of the time distortion. I'd personally never been inside one, but I wasn't gonna change that today.  
  
"Max," I said. I thought for a moment before I shook my head with a sigh. "I.. I know... I can't really say anything to convince you that this is.. ..well... insane. But..." I gathered myself together and gave him a levelled stare. "This is killing Talwyn. To know you're doing this." I dropped my gaze to glare at the floor, but I suppressed my anger and spoke calmly. "And... if this thing actually manages to send its signal out... Apogee Space Station will go offline. I don't know if you care about anything, but I hope and I think you still care about Talwyn." I stared at him in silence for a moment before I put my wrench back on my belt. "If you're not gonna help... that's fine. But just... leave us alone, because we're gonna do everything we can to stop this thing. It's the least you can do."  
  
"The very least," Clank grumbled from somewhere behind me.  
  
I broke my gaze, staring at the blinking and flashing controls around us for a moment before I turned back. "Regardless of how you feel or what you think, Talwyn still cares about you. I don't want to make some big sappy speech to try and convince you to stop this. It's not my style. But I hope you can at least listen to that, even if you decide to ignore everything else."  
  
I fell silent, watching his form still held in the instant of anger and intention to harm. I didn't know what to feel towards the man any more. I liked him originally. I really did. I'd been convinced he was a good guy. A little eccentric and maybe overbearing at times, but still a good person who cared for his daughter. I wasn't sure if it was anger I felt. It seemed too worn out and bloodless to be real anger. It wasn't pity either. Any sympathy I felt towards him got instantly redirected towards Talwyn's involvement in this instead. The only emotion I could pinpoint was a sense of betrayal, and the bite had even gone out of that. It was an overall feeling of numbness, but not quite apathy, because part of it still hurt.  
  
"You may want to stand back," Clank interrupted my thoughts. "The bomb is about to wear off."  
  
I nodded, taking a few steps backwards.  
  
The bubble flickered before disappearing and Max continued along the path of his jump, crashing to the floor with a grunt as a layer of dirt went flying up around him. He coughed and spluttered, clear irritation in his voice. I bent my knees slightly as I watched him, ready to react in case a fight was still going to break out. He pushed himself up, spitting out a mouthful of grit before he turned to us with an acidic expression. He didn't look like he was gonna try to attack us again, though. Despite the hatred and anger that was still there, I could tell the fire had gone out. I regarded him quietly for a moment before I gave Clank's back a light pat.  
  
"Let's go, pal," I said softly, my eyes still fixed on the explorer.  
  
We turned and started walking out the room. I kept my gaze on him as we did so but he didn't budge, just following us with his eyes. Eventually I turned to the front again, falling into step with my friend.  
  
"There's a cavern on the next floor," a rough voice said behind me.  
  
I stopped, looking back at the man. He'd broken eye contact with me, staring off into the middle distance somewhere to the side. He looked bereft, although what exactly he was grieving most I didn't know. I hoped it may have been remorse for what he was doing, but a part of me believed it was just more pity directed at himself.  
  
"There's a passage leading downwards when you take the first right down that way," He said to the room at large, indicating with a hand towards the other open door. "If you go down it you'll get to a hallway. It'll lead you to a small cavern underneath this room. It's the only place I think they'd have stored the thing if they wanted it to work."  
  
I said nothing. My throat felt like it'd been drawn tight. I stared at him but he refused to look at me. After he'd spoken he seemed to try to forget the fact that we were still there. I turned to head down the passage, Clank taking a few moments before he trotted to catch up with me and we walked away, leaving the explorer in the control room by himself.


	20. The Override

My footsteps felt heavy as I walked. A sense of grief had gripped me, although where it was coming from exactly I wasn't sure. I'd expected a bad reunion, and I'd expected it to be ugly. I'd even expected a fight to break out. Almost everything I'd been dreading happened, and yet I still felt like something terrible had gone down that I couldn't have foreseen. Maybe I was upset by the fact that Max Apogee, the Max Apogee I thought I'd gotten to know, never really existed. All there'd been was a man who, after being alone for 10 years, no longer knew how to be anything else.  
  
I gave a very heavy sigh which caught Clank's attention. He turned to look up at me as we made our way down the passage, waiting to find the first right turn.  
  
"He is not worth your pity, Ratchet," He said carefully.  
  
I gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Am I that obvious?"  
  
He gave a shrug in response. "I have known you for a while."  
  
I nodded at this but couldn't think of anything to say. We walked further down the hallway, my bobbing light picking out floating specks of dust in the air or the odd flying bug that'd gotten lost in the dark. I stepped over a large rock which'd fallen into the middle of the floor, turning to look at the brass inlaid gears against the walls. After a while I turned back to him.  
  
"Why're you walking, by the way?"  
  
He gave another shrug as we came to a stop.  
  
I rolled my eyes and pulled him back into place. "You could've said something, you know."  
  
"It did not seem to be the right time," He said as he attached to the harness before I picked up my walk again.  
  
"Speaking of which, I didn't know you could still throw those suckers." I turned my head partially to talk to him.  
  
"Technically, I am not so sure I am allowed to. But then... I have had some bad influences in my life who do not seem to care much for rules." He giggled to himself lightly.  
  
I laughed, feeling a bit better.  
  
My pace picked up and we started making some good time. There were places where more large piles of rubble filled the passage but this time I didn't want to lose track of where we needed to go, so often we had to climb over an unstable heap or squeeze through a gap to keep going.  
  
"You know," I broke the silence after climbing through a crack and pulling him after me, "If we get to this room and there's nothing in there, we're gonna be in a lot of trouble."  
  
"We will think of something," He said as he dusted himself off.  
  
"Blowing up the controls is probably the next best plan," I said as he returned to his place on my back.  
  
"Why is your fallback plan always to blow things up?" he asked disapprovingly.  
  
"Because it generally gets the job done." I smirked.  
  
"With how much structural damage this temple has, a properly placed explosion certainly would do a substantial amount of damage. If you could plan out the building's weak points you would not need to return to the controls to disable it."  
  
"Yeah well, I don't really feel like using up the time looking for weak spots when there's a perfectly good target for me already," I replied.  
  
"Not that we are on a schedule," Clank pointed out. "Apart from getting away from the danger already in play here."  
  
"I'd still like to work as fast as we can," I said, sliding down a part of the floor which had caved in to create a small downwards slope. "I know there's not suppose to be anything near this planet, but I really don't want us to bank on that only for some freak floating satellite to get in range."  
  
"That seems unlikely."  
  
"But not impossible, and I don't feel like waiting around to see how our luck holds."  
  
There was a short pause making me wonder what the guy was making outta this. When the silence started to drag out I wondered if maybe I should've just kept my mouth shut. I didn't exactly know how he was feeling personally about this whole situation and what it could mean if things took a bad turn. Part of me wanted to ask and I was pretty sure if I did he'd tell me, but I couldn't get myself to do it. Maybe I just didn't want to know, in case it made the situation a little too real for me.  
  
"You know, when this is all over with we're probably gonna have a media circus again," I said when I couldn't take the silence anymore.  
  
"I doubt it," He replied. "I do not think this is something the Polaris galaxy would like to be made public. It may incite a panic if people think there could be more of these contraptions out there somewhere."  
  
"Man, I hope not!" I bit down on my lip. "One's more than enough for me to try and handle, thanks."  
  
"Hmmm," Clank hummed to himself thoughtfully.  
  
I pulled a face. "What?"  
  
"Nothing," He said, not elaborating.  
  
I made a noise to myself but didn't push it.  
  
We finally reached the first right turn. I really hoped Max had meant the first right going from the control room and not the first right when entering the hallway or we were gonna get ourselves really lost. Luckily, the passage seemed to be descending steadily and before long it turned back, leading in the same direction as where the control room was.  
  
The deeper down we went, the darker the passage seemed to get. That didn't really make a lot of sense seeing as the entire inside of the temple was completely devoid of light already. Yet somehow, here it seemed like the shadows and corners swallowed the light from my harness almost completely. Maybe the walls were made of a different kind of stone than the higher floors, or there were less reflective materials. I noticed that, although these walls also had the gear inlays against the walls, they were made of a darker metal and had a heavier build-up of tarnish to them. There was another sharp lurch and tip of the floor and I leaned against a wall, keeping myself from falling over.  
  
"This is ridiculous," I grumbled as I waited for it to stop before moving on.  
  
A short trip later my light landed on another cave-in, and a big one. It filled the passage all the way up to the ceiling which seemed to have crashed in on itself until there was just too much rock for it to keep going. The walls around it were intact though, and around certain parts of the cave-in I could see the remains of what use to be a door-frame. I walked closer to the pile, kneeling down to pick up a piece of rock to look it over. It was of a different material than the walls, slightly smoother with a lighter colour to it, like the stone had come from somewhere else than the rest of the place. I frowned and made a thoughtful noise as I put it down again, looking over the area. Clank jumped down again and started to wander around the edge of the cave-in, stopping every now and then to put his fingers to his, for lack of a better word, chin.  
  
"No way around," I said, getting to my feet again.  
  
"It appears not," He nodded in agreement.  
  
He turned and walked back to me, standing on my right as he kept his eyes on the rubble. The short antennae on his head started to blip a bright green in the gloom as he literally scanned the blocked passage. After a few seconds it stopped and he turned to look up at me.  
  
"I do not think cutting through would be a good idea. I am worried that if there is a shift in the wrong direction we might collapse the rest of the hallway on top of us."  
  
I gave a nod, walking closer to step over of the rocks, looking around in between them. "Well, we're gonna have to get through one way or another."  
  
"Blowing it up will not be much safer than my laser, Ratchet," He said as his shoulders sagged at me.  
  
"Not what I was thinking, pal," I grinned as I pushed away a boulder to look behind it.  
  
"Perhaps we should try cutting into the passage next to us?" He wondered out loud, giving the wall a quizzical look.  
  
"Probably not a good idea either," I said, sticking my head out from among the slabs. "Besides, I think I've found our way in."  
  
His eyes blinked in rotation at me before he came closer, climbing over the rubble with hops and jumps. I pointed to a small gap I'd found near the bottom of the pile behind the boulder. It couldn't have been more than maybe 2 feet at its widest point. I shone my light into it, but it was swallowed by whatever was on the other side. In a way this was a good thing. It meant there was something wider than a hallway there.  
  
"Shall I go and see where it leads?" Clank asked.  
  
I shook my head. "Nah, I'll just come with you. I'm gonna have to anyway."  
  
"Oh dear," he said.  
  
I gave my harness a slight tug before I crawled into the narrow space. I had to press my chest flat against the slabs of broken rock around me, causing my light to be blocked most of the time. I grunted and swore as I forced myself through, pressing my ears flat against my head and yet still feeling them scrape against the top of the tunnel.  
  
"This is not a good idea," Clank said from somewhere.  
  
I didn't bother replying as I tried to find a foothold to push against. My boot slipped on a loose piece of gravel which I heard clatter away behind me. I froze as a small shower of sand and dust came down over me. I blinked and coughed. There wasn't enough room to try and wave it away with a hand.  
  
"Ratchet?"  
  
"Almost there," I said in response as I started to move again.  
  
I felt the edges of the hole against my fingers as I reached the other end. I grabbed hold and dislodged myself, struggling for a few minutes to pull my shoulders free before I cleared the hole completely. Once I was free, I blew out a breath before looking back down it at the green eyes waiting for me.  
  
"Well, it held." I grinned at him.  
  
"I must say, this place is starting to lose my fascination," Clank said grumpily as he got into the hole and followed, easier than I did.  
  
Once he was out, we gave the room we'd gotten to a better look. It had to be the place Max told us about. It was almost triangular, the floor being wider than the ceiling, as its walls slanted upwards. There were 3 other doorways leading into it, but they were all dark and looked unused. One of them had some bad damage around its frame, threatening to break at any moment. The room itself was completely dark. There were no control panels along the walls and no cables imbedded in the floor that I could see. It did, however, have a line of decorative gears against its walls, some of which were still working, ticking away as they spun meaninglessly.  
  
In the centre of the room there stood something that kinda reminded me of a magnified virus, and maybe that was the best word for it. It had a square-shaped base from which mechanical supports dug into the stone floor, wires running around them and disappearing into the rock. Out of this grew a thick pipe on which was a large triangular shape of the same obsidian material I'd seen used in lombax artifacts. It had decorative, angular blue lines on it, as well as the common lombax lettering in white. Out of its tip the pipe kept going, imbedding itself into the highest point of the ceiling, directly under what I guessed to be the central control room.  
  
I hurried over, circling it twice to get a look at it from all angles before kneeling down and inspecting the square base, trying to make sense of its construction.  
  
"Do you think you can turn it on?" Clank asked anxiously as he watched.  
  
"I'm gonna try," I said, shifting to look at a different side of it.  
  
The design was alien to me, but I thought I could recognise some logic to the way it was built. I ran my hands over the metal and inspected where the wires went into the floor, possibly connecting to some power-source or something. There were a number of lights on the base but they were all dead, and I couldn't see anything like a button or a switch. The temple shuddered around us again. I bit down on my lip as I circled the thing again, finally finding a latch. I tried digging my fingers into it but with no luck. The gap between it and the rest of the machine was too narrow. I pulled back, shaking my hands with an irritable noise.  
  
"Here," Clank said, opening up the compartment on his chest and pulling out a small screwdriver.  
  
"You just carry tools around with you?" I said, taking it from him. He fixed me a meaningful look and I gave a self-conscious grin. "Ok, Point taken."  
  
I turned back to the thing and worked the edge of the screwdriver into the gap before I started to pry at it. It took a few hard tugs but eventually the latch bent enough so I could force it open. Inside was a miniature jungle of wires, circuit boards, things that looked like spark-plugs, and various other bits of machinery.  
  
'Ok.' I thought to myself as I took it in. 'This is just like when you got Aphelion up and running again. You can do this.' I didn't say anything out loud though, fully aware of Clank watching me. I put my hands inside and started rooting around, looking for any hardware damage. After a few minutes, I pulled back and removed my gloves before going back in. Normally I'd keep them on, but a thought struck me that maybe this thing was similar to the doors in this place, and a physical touch might help, somehow. I started tinkering with what I had, trying to find new connections and bypass old wires that had become eroded or worn away by time. I cleaned up circuit-boards of dust or greenish rust, made new connections to less damaged parts of the thing, repaired and sometimes completely redid some of the wiring. But nothing happened. There wasn't even any sparks that would indicate live power running through the machine.  
  
'You have no idea what you're doing,' A thought hissed in my head at me, but I ignored it.  
  
As I worked, I got further and further to the back of the thing, until I had to almost climb inside it, desperately trying to find an obvious fault or damage that would stop it working. As I searched, I eventually saw something.  
  
At the bottom of the machine there lay a tangle of wires. The ends of some had been attached to a long, narrow circuit-board which seemed to be an outlet of some kind, which connected to the bottom of the machine. I followed the wires with my eyes and recognised them as the ones that followed the legs out the machine and into the floor. The outlet itself had a decent sized blossom burnt on it, which had frayed some of the wires that'd been plugged into it. The wires themselves would be easy to repair and reattach, but the outlet itself was completely fried. Even if I did get all the wires back in their proper places, it was in no condition to do anything.  
  
I swore loudly to myself, backing out of the base again. "Terrific! Well that's just great!"  
  
"What's wrong?" Clank blinked at me.  
  
"The stupid thing's fried its power circuit!" I said, giving the base a half-hearted kick. "There's no way I'm gonna get it going. Not without replacing some things."  
  
"You did not bring spare parts with you, did you?" Clank asked as he peered inside the base.  
  
"I didn't want them dragging me down," I snapped angrily. Not specifically at him, just in general.  
  
"Considering our little excursion in the flooded room, that was probably a good idea," He said as he leaned back out the machine to look at me.  
  
I gave a hefty sigh and slid to a sit, leaning my back against the machine as I scratched at the fur on my forehead, trying to figure out what I could do. Clank tilted his head as he watched me with obvious sympathy. He then looked up at the roof above us.  
  
"We can still destroy the control room," He said. I recognised the tone as the one he used when he was trying to make me feel better.  
  
I gave a groan and pinched the corners of my eyes. "I guess. Yeah. Yeah, let's go do that. We don't really have any better options right now."  
  
I straightened but didn't get up, thinking things over. "That's if Max is gonna let us into that room again."  
  
"As you said, we will handle that when we get to it," Clank urged.  
  
I nodded, pushing myself to my feet, grabbing my gloves as I did. We started walking towards the hole again as I let my thoughts run rampant, trying to come up with the best way to approach plan B and what our options were gonna be before and after we try to break the controls. If they were even that easy to break.  
  
"Do you see that?" Clank said, coming to a stop.  
  
"Huh?" I stopped as well to look at him.  
  
He was staring at something on the other side of the room. He stood in place for a moment before he trotted towards it. I turned to follow him.  
  
"See what?"  
  
My light hit a far wall which Clank was heading towards. There seemed to be something against it but I couldn't make it out. He went over and picked it up, turning back to hold it up for me to see. It was obviously a tool, but it looked in far too good condition considering the surroundings. It was painted a bright red with a black head.  
  
"A pipe-wrench?" I frowned, coming over and taking it from him. It was big. Bigger than my omni-wrench but unlike it, this was obviously meant only as a tool and didn't double as a weapon. Unless you didn't have anything else handy, of course. Clank turned back and picked up something else before turning back to me. I blinked, dumbfounded at the thing in his hand as my brain tried to figure out a reason for why it was there.  
  
"It's a plunger," I said flatly.  
  
"Indeed," Clank said, looking it over. "You do not suppose..."  
  
We stared at each for a few minutes before we both shook our heads. "Nah."  
  
"There is also this;" Clank said, holding a much smaller item out to me. "I believe it is a circuit outlet." He turned it over. "It says 'made in Kortog'."  
  
"That'll do it!" I snatched it from him, hurrying back to the machine as another shudder shook the place.  
  
"Do you really think that will work?" Clank asked, trotting after me as I buried myself in the machine's wires again. "Why would someone just leave something like that here?"  
  
"I'm not gonna ask, I'm just gonna accept it and call it luck," I said as I reached the burnt outlet again and started getting it loose to replace it.  
  
"Strange..." Clank said, more to himself it seemed.  
  
I didn't give myself time to sit and wonder about it. I removed the damaged outlet and got it out of the machine, before I put the new one into place, working the wires and getting them into what I was guessing were the right places. I couldn't be a 100 percent sure, but if this thing was designed the way I thought it was, then I was confident it'd turn on. It took about half an hour but I finally got it to a point where I was comfortable. With the outlet in place and rewired, I pulled out of the machine again, watching it expectantly.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
My proud expression started to fade as I looked over the base again, searching for some kind of power switch. There wasn't any.  
  
I knew my wiring was right! I knew it was! So why wasn't it working? Was it broken somewhere else? I didn't see any other damage when I was in there. There didn't seem to be any damage to its outside at all. The wires going into the floor all seemed intact. So what was wrong?  
  
"I gotta be missing something," I said to myself.  
  
Clank came to stand beside me, looking the base over quietly. After a few minutes he squinted at it, standing motionless before sinking in place.  
  
"It does not have power. That is all I can tell."  
  
"Yeah, thanks, Inspector," I grumbled as I ran my hands over it, standing up to inspect the triangle on the pipe, just slightly higher than me.  
  
I looked it over for a moment before I pulled off a glove again, this time reaching out and putting my hand against the black surface of the thing. Lines of light shot out from it before I heard the unmistakable hum of machinery coming to life from the base. I gave a triumphant laugh, backing up.  
  
"Oh yeah! We're in business!" I bounced on my heels proudly.  
  
The triangle started to rotate slowly in place as the base's buttons lit up in oranges and blues. The black shape opened itself up like a flower as threads of light connected its flat surfaces with the central pipe. It started to glow as crackles of blue energy danced around it, the open triangle spinning faster. The dull hum had grown louder and higher in pitch as the thing started gathering more power. A series of lights flashed on, just below the spinning black shape. They were rectangular in shape and white, circling the lower half of the pipe slowly. A digital voice, one that didn't have any self-recognition or awareness to it, spoke up from seemingly the room itself.  
  
 _Command needed to complete transmission._  
  
"Yeah! Good! Go!" I yelled at it, watching the glowing pipe grow brighter, lightning like energy crackling off it and zapping small parts of the floor.  
  
 _Command accepted._  
  
There was the sound of something like the shut down of energy before the whole machine burst into light. I partially shielded my eyes, but continued to stare at it through my fingers. A blast of energy, as if fired from a laser-canon, shot upwards along the pipe connecting with the ceiling it imbedded. It then broke apart into thousands of streams, following unseen but apparently deliberate paths along the ceiling. There was another blast of energy from the thing, this time causing me to back away from it.  
  
The room started to shake. Not the steady rocking, sudden lurches, or shudders it'd been doing until now, but a full-blown shake. There was a roar in the air and I heard the damaged doorway I'd seen collapse. The light from the machine died down to a steady glow, although the central pipe still shone white-hot, and the open triangle spun in a blur around it. The shaking didn't stop, though. I stumbled and took double steps in place just to keep my balance.  
  
"Too loud!" Clank suddenly yelled a little too distressed for my liking, although I didn't think the rumbling structure or humming machine was that deafening. He was standing in place, eyes shut tight and hands pressed over where ears would be if he had them. My face set and I ignored the shaking, running over to him and taking him by the arm, pulling him towards the hole in the wall.  
  
"We're leaving!" I said as I went, only half aware of a rock falling from the ceiling somewhere.  
  
I pulled him towards the heap of rubble and nudged him ahead of me into it.  
  
"Go, I'm right behind you!" I said, kneeling in front of the hole to watch him.  
  
He gave me a glance over his shoulder but nodded, hurrying to the other side of the block. Once he got there he turned, staring at me anxiously. He seemed more together once he got out of the room and I let my tension ease up. I grabbed the edges of the hole and pulled myself in up to my waist, grunting in effort as I tried to squeeze my shoulders past a narrow section.  
  
There was a small, drawn out sound which hit me as if a nail had been driven into my skull. I recognised it from one or two other times in my life. I saw a trail of dust fall a few feet in front of my face as pebbles shifted somewhere above me. I wrenched myself backwards out of the hole just as the middle of it collapsed in on itself, followed by the entire pile crashing down, sending a cloud of dirt into the air which curled like smoke in my harness' light.  
  
I was still on the floor but I scrambled backwards, not wasting time to get to my feet first as rocks rained to the ground where I'd been sitting just a split second ago. I raised a hand to cover my nose and mouth as I coughed, blinking at the dust in my eyes. The crashing rocks started to calm down, most of them finding a place to settle as a few last ones fell to the ground before going silent, leaving only the rumble of the building and hum of the machine for a few moments.  
  
 _"Ratchet!"_ a panicked cry came from somewhere on the other side of the cave-in.  
  
I coughed and spat, getting to my feet again before putting my hands against the rubble. The hole was gone, and there were no signs of a new one opening up when everything moved. I swore under my breath as I hit my fists against it in frustration, but nothing so much as budged.  
  
 _"Ratchet!!"_ The call sounded more urgent, almost hysterical.  
  
"Clank, you ok?!" I called, running my hand along the rocks and looking over the top of the pile, trying to see if there were any traces of a gap at all.  
  
"I'm alright!" He called back, sounding relieved. "Where are you?!"  
  
"I'm on the other side, pal!" I called as I searched, although the reality of the situation was starting to sink in. "I got out, don't worry! I'm not hurt!"  
  
"Can you get to me?" He called. He seemed to have pulled himself together. His voice was still concerned but it sounded more practical again, not as worked up.  
  
I said nothing for a moment, climbing over a few rocks in a last vain search, although I already knew there wasn't gonna be anything for me to find.  
  
"Ratchet?"  
  
I inhaled deeply as I stared at the rock immediately in front of me without really looking at it. "I'm kinda stuck, Clank," I called back after a pause.  
  
"Can you not move something to reach me?" He asked.  
  
"Doesn't look like it," I answered. I pushed back from the wall and gave the rest of the room a once over. Two of the other doors were still sealed tight. The third had collapsed into its own pile of rubble. I shone my light on it more carefully, noticing a hole at the top of the cave-in that led into darkness. The temple gave a bad rock, as if it'd tripped before it seemed to regain some of its balance, although I could hear rock-falls happening all around and the shaking continued. I made a decision.  
  
"Clank, You're gonna have to go to the control room," I called, turning back to my own cave-in. "It has a glass ceiling with a pillar that goes up to this place's roof. It's the fastest way outta here!"  
  
"I will not leave you!" He yelled with clear stubbornness in his voice.  
  
"You're not!" I called back. "We're just splitting up! There's another way out of this room, but I dunno where it's gonna go! I'll try and find my own way out but we gotta move! This whole place is coming down and we don't have time to run around trying to regroup before we get out of here! Understand?!"  
  
There was silence for a few moments.  
  
"It'll be ok, pal!" I added. "You know I wouldn't lie about something like this! I'll be fine!"  
  
"Alright. I will meet you on the roof," He finally answered.  
  
"You got it!" I nodded to myself.  
  
I waited a few minutes, trying to listen for the sound of metallic footsteps but I couldn't hear anything above the growing noise of the building. When nothing else was yelled through the cave-in, I turned and ran awkwardly for the other rock pile. I climbed it in what I was sure was record time, reaching the gap at its peak and squeezing through, landing in an empty hallway beyond it.  
  
I took a second to try and get some sense of direction before I took off down it as fast as I could, as the building seemed to lose its balance once again and started to tip.


	21. The Fall

My light danced in front of me as I ran with no clear idea of where I was going. I had a really annoying sense of déjà vu as I bounced off walls and often stumbled over fallen rocks and pieces of wall littering the passage. Dust was everywhere in the air, giving me the impression that I was running through a mist or burning building. It got in everywhere, and gave me the constant taste of silt on my tongue, as well as making my eyes water.  
  
I hoped Clank was having an easier time than I was. I also hoped that he could actually get past the glass ceiling and somehow use the pillar to get to the roof. I didn't have a clear idea of what the place looked like beyond the glass, I just hoped it was doable without needing a ton of climbing gear or he was gonna have some serious problems. The other thing that gnawed at the back of my mind was the fact that Max was probably still in that room. I was really worried something might happen between the two of them when Clank returned to the place. Clank may have his time-bombs and a mean punch, but he's not exactly what I'd describe as... durable. I was worried Max might've had a change of heart when this place started falling apart and decide to take out a bad mood on my pal.  
  
I pushed the thought out of my mind. Clank might not be build out of raritanium exactly, but he was smart, and I'd sent him on some pretty crazy solo missions before. I just had to have faith that he'd be able to handle whatever Max decided to dish out and get out of there.  
  
What _I_ had to focus on at the moment was getting out myself. I didn't recognise any of these hallways. All I could hope for was that at some point I'd find a window or a doorway leading outside so I could climb up, like I did the last time. Either that, or find a passage that for some reason led to the central pillar of the place so I could climb it instead. But to do either, I was gonna need to keep moving as fast as I could.  
  
At one point I thought about contacting Aphelion to get ready for a pick-up, if not for myself then at least Clank. However, as I reached for the nav-unit on my harness a thought struck me. Even if this place was about to crash into the jungle below us, I still didn't want to take any risks of it somehow still being able to tap into my frequency and use Aphelion's comm to broadcast off-world. I wasn't sure if the place still could send any kind of signal, but I didn't think it was worth the risk and decided against it. I wasn't really sure how we'd let her know when we reached the roof, though. If this place decided to come crashing down while we were on top of it, we could probably make a very high jump and use Clank's heli-pack to glide down. Then we just had to wait until the temple was well and properly destroyed before we hailed the ship. I hoped that if I didn't get there in time, Clank would have the sense to glide down himself. Or use the robo-wings or something.  
  
There was a moment where I was almost convinced the building was falling over. The entirety of the passage rolled an almost complete 90 degrees, and I found myself putting more weight against the wall beside me than my feet on the floor. The building corrected itself though, and with a clumsy lurch was the right-side up again. I tripped and fell, coughing for a moment on the new rain of silt and dust this violent movement had caused, before I got back up and kept going.  
  
The designs of the walls had changed, away from the decaying lombax inlays back to the more ancient looking temple cut from sturdier and more granite-like stone. 'So I'm heading back to the outer rim of the place,' I told myself as I ran. That meant a door or window was probably gonna be my best way out of here. Or maybe a hole in the wall. Whatever worked. A caved in ceiling, a caved in floor. I didn't care. As long as I could get out. Almost every corner I turned led me to some scene of destruction, as the ancient rock couldn't handle the strain of movement anymore, already weakened by the steady rock the temple had been doing up until now.  
  
I had to get pretty creative with how I was gonna keep going. Sometimes using piles of rubble to climb upwards to crawl through a hole in the ceiling to the next floor, or finding hand-holds on a wall to shimmy my way across a large gaping void where floor had given way and crashed to who knows where. And the further I went, the worse it became.  
  
Walls seemed to be made of shortbread rather than stone, floors cracking in almost predetermined patterns, and every roof above me concaved downwards as if threatening to do themselves in like a man standing on a ledge. And all the while, there was the choking dust and the by now deafening sound from crashes and roars of demolition. The lack of steadiness underfoot often caused me to stumble or throw my hands against something for support. I was expecting the whole place to crumble to dust under me at any second.  
  
I came to a large hall, similar to the flooded room but obviously a different place since the floor was still intact. The ceiling was far above me, making me think of a cathedral, and maybe that's what it was. After-all, this place was originally a place of worship. Maybe this was where they had mass gatherings for some or other reason. Probably sacrifice, with my luck. The ceiling had caved in hundreds of years ago by the looks of it. A seed at some point in its life must've fallen into the room through it and taken root, because now there stood a very tall, sturdy looking tree below it. Its roots had cracked the rocks, stone, and boulders of the floor as it had forced its way through them, while its peak had curved to find the gap in the ceiling where sunlight would flood into the room and had grown out of it, leaving only a very narrow gap between it and what was still intact of the roof. Its branches had also caused a good amount of damage to the surrounding walls, either breaking large sections of them, or simply forcing themselves through cracks and weak-points. Its bark was black and had deep gouges in the wood. The leaves growing on its branches were sparse and small, with an almost indigo sheen to them. I immediately plotted a route and started climbing. The curve of the trunk helped, giving me more to cling to than a straight growing tree would've.  
  
I'd gotten about halfway up it before things went very very wrong.  
  
There was a loud, cracking sound, like the earth itself was splitting in two. Shining my light downwards I saw dark, black lines running wildly across the ground, sections of which were already starting to shift with long groaning complaints. More cracks were shooting back and forth between the large ones, inter-connecting them as I felt the tree shudder and slowly start to tip to the side.  
  
"Aw crap."  
  
The floor caved in, crashing down into the darkness below me. I was half aware of the sound of stone against stone before the thundering sound of the collapsed floor repeated itself. The falling rocks had taken out the floor below too. I clung to the tree so hard it felt like I was going to dislocate my fingers, as it tipped over and followed the stones down into the dark. My eyes darted to the walls and ceiling, but the branches tore them apart as it fell, leaving me nowhere to jump to and no signs of any outcropping that was going to survive.  
  
I somehow found a way to tighten my grip as I squeezed my eyes shut so tight it hurt, feeling the wind start to rush as I fell.  
  
What followed was a long, confusing drop. Dust and pebbles rained over me from seemingly everywhere as the tree tried its best to hit each and every wall and rock as it fell. There was the sound of branches being ripped apart above me, and the thundering of rock meeting wood below me, each impact causing my grip to slip a little further. A sickening moment happened as I lost my hold, crashing through broken branches and lost rocks before I somehow found my arms wrapped around a tree-root as if by themselves. The light on my harness had cracked as I'd hit something on the way down and was now blinking nonsense Morse-code in the dark. I'd barely managed to make sense of where I was when we hit another floor, the avalanche that'd formed around me making short work of it. I wrapped my legs around the root but the impact shook me loose again as a fist-sized rock picked its moment to hit me right in the small of my back.  
  
Cold wind slammed into my face as boulders fell away below me into empty air, shrinking slowly before they were swallowed by a black mass that'd appeared under and all around me. The air smelled clear and had a crispness to it that almost hurt to breathe. I realised the cave-in had broken straight through the bottom of the monster, and I was staring at the canopy of the jungle. Panic tried to take over but got literally knocked out of me as I hit something wooden and tumbled off it before feeling myself caught in a nest of roots and dirt.  
  
My heart felt like it was trying to bruise the inside of my chest, it was pounding so hard, and I realised I was breathing too quickly for my lungs to handle. There was no more falling. Looking up, I saw the broken, tattered remains of the branches had wedged themselves in some part of the damaged floor above me and got stuck. The rest of the floor had fallen away to create a shapeless hole through which pieces of temple were still cascading to the jungle below. The rest of the rock above me had cracks the length of entire city blocks running across it. I could see other parts of the bottom of the temple, seemingly miles away, that'd also collapsed, raining their own dirt and debris. My hole had happened near the edge of the structure and I could see one of the enormous spider-like legs to one side as it strode awkwardly forward.  
  
I swallowed, getting my breathing to a stage where it was actually providing me with air again as I tried to piece together an idea on what the hell I was supposed to do now. The tree I was tangled in was, at the moment, the only thing keeping me from a sheer drop. Trying to climb it back up and into the temple seemed like just asking it to dislodge and fall. But there were no other places for me to jump or climb to. The hole itself was way too high above me and the leg of the walking building was even further than that. Not to mention, it was moving erratically and I didn't think I'd have been able to grab it even if it was close enough. I was hanging suspended in mid-air like some kind of insane claw-machine at an arcade, with nowhere to go and too afraid to move too much in case it spelled my doom.  
  
I tried not to panic, trying to think of some kind of plan. Once again, the idea of calling Aphelion came to mind. It seemed like a good idea, but I then thought of Clank sitting on top of this thing, waiting for his own pickup. If he didn't contact Aphelion himself, he was gonna need to be seen, and I didn't want her spending her time underneath the temple instead. Either way, I wasn't comfortable with the idea of the ship needing time to travel between the roof and the base of this thing with it threatening to fall over at any moment.  
  
'Threatening' was being generous in describing it. Watching the legs of the thing as it strode, I saw it stumble and trip over itself as if it'd just been on the biggest bender in its life and was now trying to walk home through a marble factory. That was the nice, wholesome comparison. The other one was that it looked like one of the weird animals I'd had to shoot on my adventures. Stumbling in confusion and pain as the realisation that they'd received a hole in their gut set in before they just lost their grip on gravity completely and fell to the ground.  
  
As if taking its cue from my thoughts, the temple stopped its broken walk forward and started to stumble in place, swaying dangerously to one side and then the other. Its legs crossed over themselves and I saw another hole break apart in its base several yards away, throwing more of its innards over the forest. I heard something like the sound of a gong being struck before I caught sight of the satellite dish from its back falling past me to the ground far below, followed by sheer waterfalls of rock, sand, dirt, and brass.  
  
I shifted among the tree-roots and got myself into something resembling a standing position, gripping the roots around me tightly. The building swayed again dangerously. If I was gonna do something, it had to be now.  
  
I could see the canopy below me of the insanely tall trees that'd grown in a haste to claim a spot in the sun and not be overshadowed by their neighbours. The building tipped again, staggering downwards more on my side than the other. I tensed my grip and hoped with all I was made of that when this thing fell, it was gonna fall the other way.  
  
The last sway came. It started the same as the others had, but when it reached that point of no return, it kept going, leaning further and further to the side opposite me. The tree above me groaned and shifted as its grip slipped. I tensed the muscles in my legs and adjusted my clamp-like grip, getting ready for what I was convinced would be the last stupid thing I ever did.  
  
The building was almost on a 90 degree angle when I started hearing the first sounds of trees getting annihilated under its bulk as it met the canopy. The tree that'd saved me lost its hold and started sliding downwards. I kicked my heels into action, causing the blue-hot propulsion to bust into life. I then took a breath that was too tight to feed me air, and leapt as far as I could, throwing out as hard a thrust as my hoverboots could give me.  
  
I fell through nothingness for what felt like an age. I'd waited for as long as I could, until the top of the jungle no longer resembled a green carpet but I could make out individual trees and branches, but as I fell, it seemed like I was somehow still miles higher than I should've been. And then I hit the tree I'd been aiming for.  
  
I tore through the first few green, tender branches of its highest point before I started tumbling downwards. Whenever I could, I grabbed forward, ripping out handfuls of leaves, twigs and bits of bark as I tried to slow my fall. I burned my boots against the trunk and tried to dig claws I didn't have into the bark, and although I felt my plummet slow, I couldn't escape the sheer level of stupidity I'd just shown as I felt my side smash into a branch. It felt like I'd just thrown myself full-force with hoverboots at full blast against a concrete wall, but I didn't even have time to register the pain as another branch assaulted me, flooding my vision with bursting static and knocking the wind out of me. I clawed blindly at anything that would stop my fall. My brain was in too much shock to try to keep track of how many solid masses I collided with before I felt something slam into my shoulder and chest like a steamroller. I felt my fall stop abruptly and for a moment I wondered if it was over. But I felt my weight shift and after a second or so, I slid over the side, continuing my fall.  
  
I couldn't register where I was falling from or how far I was going to go before another obstacle came out of the night to pummel me. My eyes wouldn't work. I couldn't figure out why. Maybe they were closed, maybe my head just couldn't register what I was seeing anymore. I couldn't tell, and I started to feel myself not caring anymore either.  
  
The outside world died as my focus homed in on pain. Pain from everywhere. Throbbing and streaking through the universe so hard and so intensely I couldn't even tell if it was pain from a wound already inflicted, or pain from new injuries being struck into me.  
  
But it didn't matter because eventually, even the pain vanished, and I was left with nothing. I breathed a sigh of relief as the world stopped and slid out of existence.


	22. Recovery

I think there was a sensation of pain, but I wasn't sure.  
  
I think there was heat, but I couldn't feel it properly.  
  
I was cold, yet the familiarity of sun on my fur registered vaguely in my mind.  
  
There was a buzz in my ears, and yet I couldn't hear anything.  
  
My thoughts were floating, not substantial enough to even form words. Maybe not floating, though. More like a weightless river, flowing to and from nowhere.  
  
And yet, I could feel a discomfort somewhere. Not physical, but more a dull thought urging me that something needed to be done. It started out quiet and small, but I could feel it growing, becoming more insistent that I pay attention to it.  
  
My free-flowing thoughts started to focus in on it, bringing more awareness to both myself and my surroundings.  
  
And then the pain became clearer. My head sorted through the signals sent by my limbs and a hundred different stabs came into proper focus. I felt myself suck in air through my teeth as I curled up involuntarily. But this only served to amplify the agony.  
  
However, the raw sensation helped sharpen my mind and I could finally gather my senses together, even if they remained fractured and disjointed. The thought which'd been trying its best to grab my attention finally translated itself and I understood what it was trying to say.  
  
I tensed myself as I prepared for what was gonna be a very painful exercise. I forced a hand to move despite the streak of protest that shot through me. I grit my teeth as I reached for my chest, feeling around numbly for the small, steel box. I felt a finger curl around leather, slowly following it until I found my nav-unit. I fiddled with it until I was able to figure out some kind of logic, and then pressed its central button. It caused new waves of pain to ripple through me, and I was half-aware of the arm I was pressing with not wanting to work properly. But the button yielded and I faintly made out the sound of it beeping.  
  
Within seconds a voice crackled from it. It was distorted by technology, but somewhere in my wrecked brain I knew it was a friend. I relaxed my arm again, feeling my lungs take in extra air to cope with the torment which was becoming unbearable.  
  
As if to save myself from it, I felt my head fog over again and my mind detach.  
  
The voice was silent for a few second before it spoke again, but I soon forgot what it was or why it was talking to me. It was starting to sound upset, but I felt it wasn't something I should be worried about.  
  
Eventually I felt numbness take over again, and I was relieved of pain once more, my consciousness fading with it.  
  


* * *

  
  
Once again, awareness flooded back to me.  
  
Unlike the last time though, instead of a slowly clearing mist, it now felt more like a dammed river being freed.  
  
Cold, water-like thoughts started running through my head, gathering speed and power.  
  
The same burning pain came to the forefront of my attention, but the cold flood happening in me seemed to douse it, killing it slowly but surely.  
  
In just a handful of moments, outside senses started to swirl into focus.  
  
I could feel things other than the pain that seemed to be trying to choke me. First, the clammy sturdiness against my back as I realised I was lying down. Then the sensation of warm sunlight on my face, as well as a humid breeze. The latter was rustling branches and leaves nearby, my hearing told me, as it too started to clear and bring more sense to the world.  
  
"Come on. Wake up..." A gentle, coaxing voice started to come into existence. "Wake up, Ratchet..."  
  
My brain felt like it was hurriedly trying to sort through scattered puzzle pieces as it tried to remember whose voice it was.  
  
"Is that all we have?" The voice added, something I felt was a nonsensical thing to ask me until I heard a reply from a second speaker:  
  
"I went through both our ships' supplies, we're completely out!"  
  
"Well it is not enough!" The first voice snapped in something like anger. "Do we not have any other form of first-aid?!"  
  
The cleansing flood was easing up by now, but I could feel myself becoming myself again even without it. I still hurt, in fact I still hurt a _lot,_ but it was a pain I could comprehend and identify. There was the taste of copper in my mouth, and I realised I was uncomfortable lying where I was. Something was keeping my head stable, but it didn't seem to be weighing me down. I tensed the muscles in my shoulders and chest experimentally as I forced my eyes open. The voices fell silent the instant I did so.  
  
Everything ached. My damn eyelids ached, if something like that was even possible. My left arm and side seemed the most tender, but other than that at least nothing felt so damaged that it wouldn't work. My arm which'd refused to move properly earlier ached really badly, but it seemed to be in one piece again.  
  
"Ratchet!" Clank's voice said somewhere directly above me with an emotion I couldn't place.  
  
The sun was high above us. This alarmed me, making me wonder how long I'd been out-cold. I couldn't make out much beyond that at the moment though, since Clank's head was hovering upside-down a little above mine, anxiety threatening to completely take over his face. I was startled when whatever was stabilising my head moved on its own, until I realised my pal was cupping my face in his hands. Immediately feeling self-conscious about this, I shifted and pushed myself to a sit, instantly regretting it with a wince.  
  
"Careful!" The second voice said urgently. "You're not back to a 100 percent yet! We ran out of nanotech before we could get to everything."  
  
I lifted my gaze with a confused frown at the speaker, my arms wrapped around my mid-section.  
  
Talwyn was crouching on her knees just a foot or so to my left. She was staring at me with very wide, blue eyes, her expression somewhere between stern and deeply worried. I noticed she was looking a little pale. Clank trotted from where he was standing to the other side of me, his eyes practically burning into me. He looked more upset than she did, and how that was possible I wasn't even sure.  
  
I gave a single cough before I found my voice. "God, you two look awful."  
  
I'd been semi-serious, but it helped the tension fall apart anyway as Tal's face broke into a glowing smile. I was surprised to find myself returning it, despite how much my body was trying to punish me. Despite their obvious concern, and the clear evidence that they knew I was hurting, metal slammed itself against me anyway and clamped around my shoulders as if trying to break them.  
  
I gave something like a yelp as I tried to wriggle free. "Hey! Watch it, pal, you're gonna snap something! And I mean something of mine!"  
  
Clank let me go but promptly gave my shoulder something harder than a love-tap with a fist.  
  
"You are deliberately trying to cause me to short-circuit!" He snapped with honest anger. "Do you have any idea what you just put me through?!"  
  
I scratched at something underneath my helmet as I shot him a grumpy look. "Hey, this wasn't exactly my favourite escape I've ever done either, you know!"  
  
"You promised you would be alright!" He said accusingly, crossing his arms at me.  
  
"Well, I am now... kinda." I gave a slight shrug. "Better than getting trapped under thousands of tons of rocks, right?"  
  
He made a noise that resembled a huff but didn't uncross his arms. He was trying to stay furious at me but I could tell his heart wasn't in it. I managed a guilty smile at him.  
  
"We almost lost our minds looking for you!" Talwyn put herself back in the conversation. "You were out here by yourself for almost 6 hours before I picked up your nav-unit's signal. We tried to contact you but you weren't replying. We had to use Aphelion's tracker to find out where you were." Her smile returned. "Good job, by the way. I dunno how you managed to get it going considering the state you were in when we found you."  
  
As if to punctuate her sentence, Clank gave me another light knock against the arm with a fist, still frowning to himself. I gave him a sideways glance but said nothing, turning back to Talwyn. I wasn't sure what to say to this. I didn't really remember turning my nav-unit on that well. Or rather I remembered turning it on, but I wasn't sure I knew why I was doing it at the time  
  
"Was I really beat up that bad?" I asked awkwardly, rubbing at my side again which was still throbbing.  
  
Talwyn didn't answer right away and I could almost see in her eyes her trying to work out how to answer the question. I turned away from her, focusing instead on where I thought the temple had gone down. Maybe now wasn't the right time to fuel their worry. They already both looked like they were on the verge of an aneurysm.  
  
"Nevermind," I said flatly.  
  
There was still the scent of dust and stone in the air, and there was a lack of noise from any birds or insects you'd normally expect in a tropical place like this. The jungle floor was dense with low growing ferns and unidentifiable stalks of green plants and saplings, as well as a healthy litter of leaves, twigs, mushrooms, ants and whatever else had fallen to the ground from the tree tops. However, among this normality there were also a large collection of branches that looked too thick and healthy to have fallen to the ground on their own. There was also a large amount of stones scattered everywhere around us that looked too symmetrically cut to be natural. I thought about the sun beating down on us again, and realised that the thick canopy above us shouldn't have let any sunlight reach this far down. Looking up, I got a clear view of the numerous holes torn through the top branches of the trees we were under, as well as a larger and more devastating clearing torn open a few yards in front of us. Between the bent and torn branches, I could see something that kind of looked like the peak of a destroyed pyramid, or maybe the remains of a construction project, torn from some building somewhere and dumped in a pile where it'd be out of the way.  
  
I stared at it for a moment before I achingly pushed myself to my feet. There were noises of protest from Talwyn but I ignored her. I swayed slightly but steadied my balance easily enough. I walked towards the large clearing of sky, realising with some irritation the limp that'd been healed a day or two ago was back. There was the rustle and clack of metal against foliage as I heard Clank follow me, Talwyn not far behind him. I pushed aside leaves the size of beach umbrellas and carefully stepped over curved roots until a large, fallen tree-trunk marked the area where the walking Temple had met its end.  
  
There was nothing recognisable about it any more. The sky stretched open and unchallenged for more than a mile in front of me. Mountains and hills of broken stone had formed, a shroud of dust hugging the ground. The rubble had no resemblance to a temple any more, or even of any designed structure at all. The only evidence left that the destruction in front of us had anything artificial about it, was the straight lines of some of the boulders, and the occasional stone that still bore the remains of some ancient fresco or another, although the scenes they use to depict were so damaged you couldn't tell what they use to be any more. In the early afternoon sun I thought I could pick out the glimmer from a brass gear, but I couldn't be sure.  
  
I turned my gaze to the tree-line surrounding the newly formed clearing. Branches and sometimes whole trees had been torn and thrown all over the place. The calm wind that rushed through the unobstructed area was white with feathery seeds and pods from the disturbed plants. In a week, the whole scene was probably gonna be overgrown and covered up again, and would most likely be forgotten by everyone but those whose jobs it was to catalogue these kinds of things.  
  
"We ran a thorough scan on the whole place," Talwyn said as if trying to read my mind. "There's nothing resembling a power signature coming from anywhere near this thing. It seems whatever you ended up doing got the job done, and then some."  
  
I nodded, keeping my eyes on the scene. There was a nagging question I wanted to ask, but I didn't feel it was the right time yet. Not in front of Talwyn anyway. So instead I asked the next thing I was confused about.  
  
"What're you doing here, by the way?" I asked as I turned to her. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but I thought you were gonna... you know... sit this one out?"  
  
She smiled again, but this one was sheepish as she fussed with a loose strand of hair, tucking it away. "I was going to... but as I waited I started to feel really guilty and stupid. I felt like I was being some scared little girl who didn't want to do something important because she was so worried about feeling uncomfortable about it, and it sickened me. Eventually I couldn't take it any more and came to find you guys. By the time I got here, the whole thing seemed to be over already. I did swipe Clank off the roof of this thing though... so not a completely wasted trip, right?" Her smiled warmed again as she met my gaze.  
  
I smiled back. Whether she actually helped saved the day or not, just the fact that she felt strongly enough to come and back us up despite her personal stuff meant a lot. A hell of a lot.  
  
"Thanks, Tal."  
  
I turned back to stare at the wasteland in front of me. I felt like I should've been able to assign some kind of deeper meaning to the rubble in front of me, considering what we went through and what'd happened, but somehow the lost time dulled the reality of it for me. Like it was a lingering dream that was sticking around after I'd woken up, but nothing more than that. If it wasn't for the stinging ache I still felt, I probably could've tricked myself into thinking it didn't really happen.  
  
Thinking about the pain brought it into focus again and I suddenly felt how much of my energy was drained. Feeling woozy, I sunk and sat down on the nearest newly added boulder to the scenery, my arms still wrapped loosely around my middle.  
  
"We need to get you back to the space-station," Clank said as he watched me closely. "Your injuries are far from mended and we do not have anything else to treat you with."  
  
"I'll be fine," I said dismissively, although in truth I agreed with him.  
  
I pushed myself to my feet shakily and we turned to leave, Talwyn leading us to where she'd parked Aphelion and her own ship. Clank seemed a lot more interested in sticking close to me, as if he'd attached himself to my hip. He worried now and then, and he tended to have a bit of a hang up when I'd been given a bad beating, but I was the more sentimental one between us. The fact that he was fussing as much as he was made my stomach turn slightly. I knew I'd been hurt pretty bad, but his reaction was really out of character. It scared me a little, making me wonder just how much damage I'd had when they found me. I tried to not think about it too much, reminding myself that they'd probably poured enough nanotech in me to regrow severed limbs and there was no point in worrying about injuries that'd already been healed.  
  
The two ships, one sleeker than its larger companion, came into view through the trees. Talwyn turned to wave a finger at us, mostly at me.  
  
"I'm giving the two of you a lift home. There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near a wheel in that condition, and you're too distracted to try any kind of driving." The second sentence was aimed at Clank, who gave her an annoyed frown.  
  
"Sure," I said, sitting down again on a fallen branch. I was in no mood to argue with anyone. "Whatever gets us off this rock the fastest, I'm good with. Let's just get going. I've had enough of this place."  
  
She gave a satisfied nod, followed by a light smile as she turned, heading for Aphelion to set her auto-pilot. I watched her back as she went, waiting until she was out of earshot before I finally asked; "What happened to Max?"  
  
There was a pause. Normally that'd signal bad news, but the silence seemed more weighed down by fatigue than it was charged with tragedy. I waited, too tired to stress over what the answer would be.  
  
"I do not know," Clank eventually answered. "When I reached the control room he was already gone."  
  
"D'you see him at all after that?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.  
  
"No." Clank shook his head slowly. "Not in the temple, nor when we were searching for you." His expression hardened as the bolts-for-shoulders rose with a wave of tension. "Probably for the best. If we had met him before we found you, I do not think I would have been able to control my temper."  
  
I stared at him as he glowered to himself furiously. I reached out and put a hand on his head.  
  
"I'm still here, pal."  
  
He seemed to want to say something to this, but decided against it, sinking in place as he relaxed again. I kept my hand where it was and he didn't push it away. We sat in silence as I watched Talwyn half-hidden inside Aphelion's cockpit, typing in commands and conversing with the ship quietly.  
  
I removed my hand after a few minutes. "...Do you think he's dead?"  
  
Clank tilted his head slightly, thinking it over. Eventually he made the motions of a sigh. "I do not know. It seems likely, though."  
  
I nodded slowly, but wasn't fully convinced. "Chances are he's been killed, yeah..." I turned to stare in the direction of the temple's remains. "Somehow though... I don't really know if I believe it."  
  
There was another pause between us.  
  
"Do you think he will ever resurface?" Clank asked carefully.  
  
I gave a shrug but stopped halfway when it sent a spasm through my arm. "I have no idea. And what's worse... I can't decide if it'd be the better thing for him to do or not."  
  
"Personally, I would be happier if I never saw him again," Clank said bluntly.  
  
I said nothing in reply, unable to find an emotion where I could both forgive Max for what he did while also wanting him to never speak to Talwyn again for the rest of her life. The guy was unhinged, clearly, but knowing that he'd consciously done something that could've killed my pal stopped me from excusing his behaviour, despite whatever state of mind he'd been in. And yet, I couldn't just hate him and kill all sympathy I felt for him either. I still wished he could've been the man I thought I'd caught a glimpse of when we were staying on the space-station. He may've been acting weird from the start, but there'd still been the flicker of something more than obsession and grief in him then.  
  
My specially developed guilt-complex decided to interrupt and point out that although Max'd tried to kill both me and Clank in different ways, I was still willing to have some kind of pity, whereas my friend seemed unwilling to feel anything but anger towards him, and maybe he was a better friend than me because of it.  
  
I sighed, putting my head in my hands and closing my eyes, too drained to either defend or belittle myself any further.  
  
"All set guys!" Talwyn's voice called after a moment.  
  
I straightened up again and got awkwardly to my feet. Somehow, the longer I was awake, the worse I was starting to feel. It wasn't fair but I blamed this planet for that too. I made a vow to myself that I'd never come back.  
  
Talwyn took her spot in the pilot's seat while the rest of us got into the back, leaving the passenger's side of the ship empty. She didn't say anything to this, getting her ship into the air and steering it out of the trees and above the canopy. She adjusted the engine and the ship opened its thrusters, shooting higher into the air until it broke the stratosphere, moisture condensing on its windows as it did. I saw the streak of cyan as Aphelion circled us, staying close. Below us, the almost crater-like destruction of the fallen temple was clearly visible, even from this height. The wide gashes it'd cut into the forest still marking the path it'd taken before it collapsed and broke apart.  
  
I watched it dully through the window until we cleared the mesosphere and the sky became an inky black. We were too high to see anything of the thing anymore, the jungle nothing but a stretch of green across a continent below us.  
  
Aching and feeling emotionally screwed up, but with a slow unwinding of tension, I felt secure that none of my friends were in danger any more, and the world around me could slip back into something resembling normality a little better. I slept the rest of the way home.


	23. And On We Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the Epilogue left

We got back without any problems I was aware of. The Station was a welcomed sight when Clank prodded me awake. Kronk and Zephyr met us in the hangar, anxious to make sure their mistress hadn't gotten into trouble without them there to protect her. Once sure she was fine, their next questions were about Max. It was expected, but not something I really wanted to hear from anyone right now. They bombarded her while I gingerly got out of her ship, Clank waiting for me to step down patiently.  
  
Talwyn bit her bottom lip when they fell silent, waiting for answers.  
  
"Dad is..." She faltered, a sad frown on her face as she thought about her reply. "...missing."  
  
I stood on the side-lines, watching the awkward exchange unfolding. I felt I should've had something to add, but I didn't know if it'd be better if she told the whole story herself. Besides, all I wanted at that moment was to find some more nanotech, and fast. The brief rest on the way back did little to nothing in easing the pain and even now, just standing in the hangar waiting for Talwyn to tell her war-bots what happened, I felt my last reserves of energy drain away.  
  
"He didn't really do all this, right miss?" Kronk asked hopelessly. "Not ol' Max."  
  
Talwyn wasn't making eye-contact with him, but she kept her gaze from falling all the way to the floor. I saw her chest inflate silently as she breathed deeply before looking up at them again.  
  
"It's a long story, guys. I'll tell you everything, but let's get back inside first. I don't want to stand around the hangar all day. Besides, we really need to get to our nanotech supply."  
  
"Again? We should send you kids out with knee-pads and helmets next time!" Zephyr turned a bemused glance at me, chuckling to himself. It caused the bolts in his shoulders to jerk and rattle around. His laughing turned into a cough and he cleared his throat.  
  
"Good gravy, rookie! What've ye done to yerself?!" Kronk said with clear shock when he turned to me too.  
  
I pulled an irritable face to myself, not enjoying the attention. "I fell."  
  
"Down the stairs, right?" Zephyr interrupted with a knowing nod. "Done it meself a few times. One time we were visiting them pyreemids on Azteka and we climbed all them stairs all the way to the top, only for Gearloose the Graceless here ta spring an oil leak, causin' us ta slip and slide all the way back down the whole thing like them Slinkies! Right, Kronk?"  
  
Kronk shook his head hurriedly. "No no no, we were on the third moon a' Veroticon VI when we were busy walkin' the road to-"  
  
"Perhaps we should go on ahead," Clank came to my rescue. "Talwyn, I think it would be best if you informed Kronk and Zephyr as to what happened in detail. We will find the nanotech and take care of things on our end."  
  
She gave a nod, catching the drift. "There should be some in my bathroom. There's a dispenser installed on he wall near the shower, you can't miss it."  
  
He nodded before taking a few steps towards the elevator, turning to make sure I was following. I gave Tal and her guardians a passing glance as I limped after him. I suddenly felt very out-of-place here. The walking temple, what it did, and Max's involvement were all things much more personal to them than they could ever be to me or Clank. Even if we wanted to offer some kind of emotional support, I didn't feel it was our place, really. Yet that part of me which'd gotten far too use to playing the hero wanted to find some way that I could help. Make them feel better some way.  
  
But even if there was something I could do, it had to wait. Right now I was in no condition to help anyone with anything. We got into the elevator and I instantly leaned against the side of it before I slid down to sit. My legs ached and objected heavily to being used for any length of time. As if deliberately trying to make me feel worse, my brain decided now was the time to remind me of the stairs we were gonna have to climb to get to the station's living area. I gave a groan and leaned my head back against the wall.  
  
"Ratchet?" Clank's voice asked with concern.  
  
"Think you can carry me the rest of the way?" I grumbled.  
  
"I do not think so," He answered, relaxing again. "You are very heavy and impractically shaped to be carried."  
  
I laughed but it hurt my chest to do so. I rubbed it as I grinned at him instead. "'impractically shaped'?"  
  
He gave a shrug at me. "It is the truth. You were not made for carrying."  
  
I shook my head with another painful chuckle as the elevator dinged and its doors opened. I pushed myself back to my feet and we made the trek across the atrium to the entrance hall. As we walked through it and started the very slow and excruciating climb up the stairs, I gave the open floor a glance. The boxes, antiques, artifacts, crates, books and everything else that'd taken over the place only a couple of days ago were all gone. Discoloured sand and pieces of packing peanuts still lay in corners of the room and in cracks in the floor, but they were all that was left of the scene. I kept my eyes fixed on it as we climbed, finally reaching the living room and heading down the hall in the direction of Tal's bedroom. A nostalgia clung to me, and I wondered if everything of the explorer had been put out of sight. Maybe it was callous. Maybe it was for the best.  
  
Talwyn's room was big, as it should be for the master bedroom. I tended not to go in it unless I was invited. Girls and all that. Right now though, it might as well have been a styrofoam warehouse for all I cared. The only thing in it which caught any of my interest at all was the bed, and that was because I just wanted to collapse down on it and go to sleep for a week. The bathroom was likewise big, with both a shower and over-sized, hot-tub like bath. The nanotech dispenser was a weird one. I'd never really seen a wall-mounted one before. It jutted out in a slight curve, made of a white metal with cyan lines running down its edges, the round nanotech symbol painted on it as if Talwyn might forget what it was for. Then again if Kronk or Zephyr had to use it.. ...yeah maybe labelling it was a good idea after all.  
  
"Very practical." Clank nodded to himself in approval. "Perhaps we should ask her where she got it from so we could get one too. Or three. Or four."  
  
As he looked it over to find a way to get the healing tech out of it, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. When I realised what I was looking at I froze, staring at my reflection before I turned and took a step closer to it. My eyes stared widely back at me in shock.  
  
My fur had a layer of sandy coloured dust clinging to it. There were also random twigs and pieces of bark stuck in places, and my helmet had a bad tear on one of its straps. My shirt had also torn its sleeve and my gloves had gotten holes around the fingers from when I'd dug them into the tree-bark.  
  
But those weren't the things that made my stomach roll. The fur all along the right side of my muzzle was matted together with a dark, dried-out substance. It was caked thickest around my nose and mouth, running along my cheek down the side of my face where it formed an incoherent mess. There were also dark stains around the shoulder of my shirt which'd seeped into the leather of my harness. I swallowed before I raised a shaking arm. It had its own black smudges and streaks across it, lifting the other one revealed it to look even worse. I also noticed a smaller series of dark streaks along the tip of one of my ears. I looked like a scene from a horror movie. I stared, a frozen sensation running up my arms as I wrapped them around my aching middle again.  
  
"Ah, finally," Clank's voice said, startling me. I'd forgotten he was still in the room. He turned to me with a proud smile, a swirling orb cupped in his hands. His smile fell when he saw me though and he came closer, holding the dose of nanotech out urgently as he misread my expression. The nanotech immediately shot out towards me and seeped in under my skin. The ache in my arm vanished in an instant. I made a relieved noise, flexing my elbow gratefully.  
  
"Is that alright?" Clank asked.  
  
"Not yet, but it's better." I gave him a smile although I was feeling a little nauseous. "Almost there. Gimme another shot and it should do the trick."  
  
Clank nodded and trotted back to the dispenser, pressing down on a panel and causing another fist-sized swirling ball to ooze out of it. I turned my gaze back to the mirror as I waited, transfixed by the image staring back at me, like you'd stare at a ship that'd gutted itself during a crash-landing.  
  
"Just how bad was I hurt?" I asked, realising with horror I'd said it out loud.  
  
Clank froze in place, his gaze dropping to stare at the glowing ball he was holding. I quickly started to backpedal. "Then again nevermind. It's over now, right? We're all good so I guess it's not really that important."  
  
Clank nodded, although it seemed more to himself as he turned back to me, holding out the second orb. It followed the first one's path. The throb in my side subsided. Clank didn't say anything but looked up at me expectantly. I scratched at the back of my neck awkwardly.  
  
"One more," I mumbled.  
  
He merely nodded and turned back to the dispenser. I took the moment to look over the marks on my arm, but whatever cuts had bled had already been treated, probably by the tech he and Talwyn pumped into me when they first found me. There were no wounds anymore, only the evidence they'd left that'd dried in the sun.  
  
"Tell me if you need another one after this," Clank said as he turned back, repeating the process again. "I would not be surprised if that were the case. You... really were in bad condition. I would rather not take chances."  
  
I pulled a face to myself uncomfortably. I felt the cool rush as the newest ball of energy killed the last remaining aches and stings. I still felt tired though. The lack of sleep and being knocked out twice in one day hadn't done me any good. But the nanotech would deal with anything immediately serious. I took some relief in that. I was confident that after some sleep, and maybe a meal, I'd be a 100 percent again.  
  
Clank turned back to the dispenser.  
  
"I think that's good," I said to him as I started to remove my gloves. They felt gritty and were pretty much torn up anyway. "I'll just get cleaned up and I should be perfect again."  
  
"I would rather not take chances," Clank repeated to the dispenser as he got another orb out of it.  
  
I blinked at him for a moment before I knelt down, putting my gloves on the side of the sink as I did so. He kept his back to me as he waited for the orb to form properly. I sucked on my teeth as I searched the floor with my eyes meaninglessly. I looked up again as a topic starter came to mind.  
  
"I didn't ask. Are you ok? Like... really ok?" I asked.  
  
He turned back to me, holding the new orb. "Yes. The glass ceiling had broken in the temple when I got there, and the central pillar had something I assume to be a maintenance stairway spiralling up it. Once on the roof, it was only a few minutes before Talwyn picked me up and we cleared the building before it collapsed."  
  
I waited patiently for him to finish as I nodded. "And after that?"  
  
He blinked at me with soft confusion. "After that there was no more danger. The building came down, but we were out of range from any damage. We made contact with Aphelion and she had kept a good distance as well. We then focused on trying to locate you."  
  
"And... erm... after that?" I pressed, locking my gaze with his, almost willing him to not break eye contact.  
  
"After that..." He thought, his expression mixing between his current confusion and what was becoming discomfort. "...We searched for several hours. Eventually Aphelion contacted us, letting us know she had picked up a signal from your nav-unit. We tried to contact you but you would not answer. However, we were able to triangulate the signal and managed to find you."  
  
This time I kept quiet, watching him closely. Normally I wasn't the kind of guy to push or force something, but I needed to know just how close I'd come to biting the big one this time. If Clank couldn't answer a direct question I had to try to get him to tell me some other way. I wish I could've just let the topic drop, but I had to know.  
  
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "When we did find you... you were badly hurt." He went silent for a moment. "I was very afraid." he shook his head hard before he straightened, his grip tightening on the sphere still in his hands. "I am so sorry, Ratchet! I feel awful for being the cause of this."  
  
I gave him an incredulous smile. "The cause? The heck are you talking about, pal? If you'd planned all this I'm sure I'd have caught you out earlier."  
  
He shook his head again mournfully. "You embarked on this insanity because you were concerned for my well-being. I feel responsible."  
  
"Well don't," I said simply. "The place was posing a threat to everyone, pal. Not just robots, but anyone who owns a wristwatch! I would've gone to sort things out even if there wasn't anything dangerous to you specifically."  
  
"Do not assume I did not know your true investment in the situation, Ratchet." he scolded with a sad frown.  
  
I tried to grin, but it came out in a softer smile instead. "I thought that's just the kinda stuff we did. I mean, it's not like you haven't done stupid things for me before either, you know."  
  
"Yes, but in the past what needed to be done did not have second options that were acceptable," He tried to argue.  
  
"And what part of this d'you think I had to think twice about, huh?"  
  
He said nothing for a few minutes, thinking to himself deeply. I could see the lights in his eyes dart very slightly with thought. He adjusted his grip on the nanotech when he looked up at me again.  
  
"It did not make finding you injured and in pain any easier for me." He stared at me, clearly still very upset despite his calm tone of voice.  
  
I said nothing for a moment, giving a short puff of a breath. There wasn't really much for me to convince myself of. I'd do all of it again in a heartbeat if I had to, but I wasn't gonna tell him that. Instead, I pulled my thoughts together, trying to come up with an easy way to put this thing to rest so we wouldn't have to go around in circles for half an hour. Eventually I turned back to him. He was waiting anxiously for an answer, something that would make him feel better. I felt myself smiling as I reach forward and rested a hand on one of his shoulders, giving it a gentle squeeze.  
  
"I didn't want you to get hurt, right? And... you didn't like me getting hurt either." I managed a wide smile again. "So if you ask me, we might as well just call the feeling mutual and leave it at that." I gave a small shrug. "Not much more we can do or say right?"  
  
He said nothing, thinking this over for a moment before he walked closer. "Except, perhaps, that we need to protect each other a little better, I think."  
  
"Nah," I chuckled. "You do a good enough job already."  
  
"Likewise," He said with a smile.  
  
The orb in his hands refused to draw into me and I reached out and took it from him, holding it in my hands as it remained where it was, having no more injuries to heal.  
  


* * *

  
  
The next thing on my list was a shower. That was probably the most unpleasant experience of getting back. I watched in quiet revulsion as ribbons of yellowish red washed off me and pooled around my feet before draining away. I spent about double the time I usually did to get clean. I didn't want any evidence left of my fall on me. I wanted the whole ordeal, not just the physical part of it, cleaned away and dissolved. Eventually though, I had to admit I wasn't gonna be able to hide forever and turned off the water.  
  
I pulled on some fresh clothes and left the bathroom. My boots were left to be cleaned later, along with my harness and helmet. I exited the bathroom, towel still draped around my shoulders, and I made my way to the living room. Only one more thing to do and I could close the book on all of this.  
  
_"So let me get this straight;"_ Dr. Faversham said, lacing his fingers together as he collected himself for his summary. _"You managed to find the lombax built device that could over-ride the Switch's transmission and turned it on, which caused the machine to break apart and collapse in on itself."_  
  
I gave a nod, shifting my position on the coffee table.  
  
_"And how, pray tell, did you manage to get a 30 year old machine to turn on?"_ The Archaeologist raised a skeptical eyebrow at me. _"One which had writing on it you could not understand built by a species no longer around?"_  
  
I gave a shrug. I didn't have the energy left to be irritated by the man's belittling. "I rewired and fixed the parts that were worn out. As for the design, it just... made sense to me."  
  
He stared at me hard, I merely stared back with an open expression. After a few minutes he gave up with a sigh and a nod. _"And how did you know where to find this machine? I merely ask because you did not seem to take very long before the Switch was disabled."_  
  
I thought for a moment about how to answer this. Eventually I decided to just tell the truth. "Max told me."  
  
There was a pause. Dr. Faversham turned his gaze back to me slowly. There was disbelief in his eyes, but not because he was shocked. I was beginning to get the idea he didn't really trust me. Why I had no idea. Not to boast, but I'd have thought if there was a species out there that might've given me some slack it would've been the Tharpods.  
  
_"Is that right?"_ He eventually asked.  
  
I gave a nod. "When we, me and Clank that is, got back to the control room we talked to him about what this machine meant. It seems he already knew what it did but..." I hesitated, feeling the eyes behind me stare at the back of my head. "...When I told him... When I reminded him of his space station and... those on board... He had a change of heart. And he told me where it was."  
  
There was drawn out silence in the living room. I could almost physically feel the minutes tick by. Eventually I heard a shift on the couch behind me, followed by the soft, feminine footsteps heading down the hall and out of earshot. I sunk in place slightly.  
  
Dr. Faversham's eyes told me he'd followed Talwyn's walk out the room. He turned back to me, his gaze still stern and judgemental but not as full of doubt.  
  
_"I see."_ He took in a deep breath as he straightened, or as much as he could, considering his anatomy. _"Then we at the Archaeological Institute accept your official statement regarding the situation. And we thank you for your coöperation."_ The last part was said as if he was sucking a lemon.  
  
I simply gave a nod.  
  
_"If I may Interlude!"_ Qwark's giant shoulders and tiny head popped into frame. _"I thought you'd like to know that I, the great and powerful Captain PRESIDENT Qwark, have discussed this with my advisors and it's been decided we're not gonna put any blame on you for what this crazy Max guy did! No need to thank me, it's all in a day's work. Upholding justice, protecting the innocent and all that."_ A toothpaste commercial smile beamed at me.  
  
"Yeah great," I said, running a hand across my face. "Thanks, Qwark. That's great."  
  
_"You're welcome, faithful sidekick!"_ He gave a wink that made me want to punch him. Meanwhile, the tharpod was desperately trying to shove the man's massive arm off his humped back and push him off frame again.  
  
"So..." I got up. "We're done right? We can put this thing to bed?"  
  
_"Just one last thing,"_ The doctor managed as he partially got back into frame. _"The whereabouts of Max Apogee. You said there was no trace of him when your robot companion returned to the control room, and there have been no signs of him after the destruction of the machine, correct?"_  
  
I gave a stiff nod.  
  
_"Do you want him to be reported missing?"_  
  
I said nothing, staring at the space directly below the screen, thinking it over. After a solid minute the archaeologist repeated himself.  
  
_"Do you want to report Max Apogee missing, Ratchet?"_  
  
I shook my head. "No."  
  
_"So you believe him to have perished in the destruction?"_  
  
Again, I said nothing. I heard him clear his throat to repeat himself again but I interrupted by shaking my head a second time. "No... no I don't think he did."  
  
_"So do you want to report him missing?"_ He said again, a hint of irritation in his voice.  
  
I shook my head a third time. "No. No I don't want to report anything." I lifted my gaze. "I'll leave that to you more..." I looked back and forth between them. "...official types." I gave a shrug as I walked forward to turn the call off. "I'm just a mechanic."  
  
Dr. Faversham opened his mouth to add something but I switched the screen off before he could say it. I stood motionless in front of the screen for a while, expecting them to call back with annoyed words and more questions, but they didn't. I turned to the room behind me. Clank was sitting on the couch, watching me carefully. He seemed unsure of what we had to do next. I gave him a sideways smile as I turned and left the room. I heard him climb down and start to follow me, but his footsteps stopped when he saw the direction I was heading.  
  
I walked down the hall, stopping in front of the door. I stared at my shadow for a while, trying to write some kind of speech. Eventually I gave up and just knocked. I waited but there was no answer. I opened it anyway, peering inside.  
  
Talwyn sat on her bed, staring out at one wall that was made of a glass-like material, overlooking the green gardens and the small waterfall that pooled into a swimming hole. She had her back to me, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knees. Her tail curled around her.  
  
I stared at her for a moment. At first I did think of something to say, but I decided against it as I walked in and went over to her. She didn't acknowledge me, although I knew she heard me enter. I didn't even ask for permission as I climbed up onto the bed, crawled over until I was right behind her, and put my arms around her shoulders.  
  
She stiffened but relaxed almost immediately. She didn't say anything, so I didn't see a reason to either. I stared at the leaves and ferns covering the view in front of us. I don't know how long we stayed like this, but it didn't seem to matter much either way.  
  
Eventually I felt her take a deep breath before she let out again slowly, her shoulders dropping. Her arms slid from around her legs to loosely hooking around her ankles. She leaned back against me a little, but kept her gaze on the window-like wall. I didn't let go. She didn't seem to want me to.  
  
"D'you wanna get out of here for a while?" I asked as she relaxed.  
  
She tiled her head very slightly. "And go where?"  
  
I shrugged. "I dunno. I just figured maybe you'd like to get out of this place for a while and...I dunno... stay with us for a day or two."  
  
She turned her head towards me slightly, giving me a cheeky but honest grin. "On Igliak?"  
  
I pulled back as I finally let her go, giving her a wide grin in return. "Anywhere you want."  
  
"Yeah..." She nodded to herself as he gaze dropped. She then raised her eyes again and smiled warmly. "Yeah, I'd like that."  
  


* * *

  
  
When I got back to the living room Clank was sitting in one of the large armchairs. He had his book he'd got from Max open on his legs and was reading it closely. Not too absorbed in it though, since he looked up as soon as I walked in, closing it and pushing it aside.  
  
"Is everything alright?" He asked.  
  
I smiled and gave a nod. "Yeah. We're gonna take Talwyn back home for a while."  
  
"Do you think Igliak would be the best place for her right now?" He asked, getting down off the chair and coming closer. "Even if the Polaris government does not release an official statement on what happened, people are still going to have a lot of questions about the disappearance of the temple and Mr. Apogee's involvement with it."  
  
"Yeah," I nodded. "But I wasn't really thinking of going back to Luminopolis. Not right away, anyway."  
  
He blinked in full rotation at me, tilting his head. "Then where were you thinking?"  
  
I smiled, putting a hand on his head fondly as I passed him to head to our room, finally confident that I could close my eyes and sleep with no more drama, pain, or danger waiting for me or any of my friends.  
  
"Veldin's nice and sunny this time of year," I said as I went.  
  
There was a pause during which I heard the clack of his metal footsteps follow me.  
  
"Veldin is sunny every time of year," He said with something like a sigh.  
  
I smiled to myself before I gave a soft laugh, patting his back lightly as we walked.


	24. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it :) I hope you guys enjoyed it. Regardless if you were reading this as I uploaded or found it later.

With all our great gadgets, and despite my best inventing efforts, mail still took a while to get to Veldin, especially from other galaxies. So it was perhaps an entire month before a package arrived addressed to me. The fact that it'd been addressed to my apartment on Igliak in the Polaris galaxy and had to be forwarded at least twice probably hadn't helped the delivery time much. Then again, at least it got to me. With Veldin's mail-service you could never know.  
  
After the delivery bot put the small package in my hand and I'd signed fro it, I took it back inside the house, looking it over with a frown. There was no return address on it and I didn't recognise most of the intergalactic stamps stuck all over it. I walked across the garage and into the living room, still looking it over quizzically.  
  
"Mail?" Clank asked simply, putting down the stack of books in his arms on the coffee table. He'd gotten it into his head recently to rearrange the entire room. There were talks of wallpaper. I decided to just avoid the entire exercise and not to tell him people were gonna start calling us a married couple if they saw any of this.  
  
I nodded in response to his question as I sat down, opening the box at one end and pulling out its contents. "Yeah. By the looks of it it's been halfway around the galaxy looking for me."  
  
"It is not a bomb is it?" Clank frowned irritably. "If we have to rebuilt this house one more time I am going to be extremely irate!"  
  
"If it was a bomb it would've gone off ages ago," I said, trying to convince myself.  
  
The thing that came out of the cardboard was weird. It was made from a strange metal I couldn't identify. Not that it was fancy in any kind of way. In fact it looked like an insane jerry-rig with several pieces of the same material welded and bolted together haphazardly. It was simple steel in colour, apart from places where there seemed to be a residue from water at one stage, slowly trying to rust parts of the thing. I frowned at it before handing it over to Clank.  
  
"What d'you make of that?"  
  
He took it and looked it over, a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "It appears to be a containment unit of some kind. However, I do not see any way to open it up, other than cutting it open with a laser."  
  
"Why would somebody send me a box I can't open?" I asked, more to myself as I took it back.  
  
As I turned it over in my hands to try and find some kind of clue, some small etchings in the metal caught my attention. I turned the metallic box so the light could hit them better. Someone had scratched in a few words directly onto the metal surface.  
  
_TAKE OFF GLOVES_  
  
I blinked at this, only more confused by these instructions. I put the box on my lap, pulling off my gloves with a grumble about taking orders from inanimate objects. After I'd gotten my hands free I picked the thing up again, although what I was expecting this to achieve I didn't know.  
  
But taking off my gloves did the trick, and the box suddenly gave a shudder in my hands, surprising me so much I dropped it. It lay vibrating on the ground for a moment before it settled down. After a second , several of what had seemed like welded together parts of metal opened up, revealing the thing's contents.  
  
I realised that I'd instinctively raised my wrench at the thing when it'd hit the floor. I lowered it again, frowning at the now-open box with suspicion as I reached down and picked up the thing it'd been hiding.  
  
It was a book. A really old book, written on paper and with yellowing pages that jutted out awkwardly. I turned it over but there was no title on its cover or even its spine. It seemed familiar though. I opened it up to the first page.  
  
_Coleander's Travel journal. 5302 – 5303_  
  
I stared at the handwritten date blankly. Underneath it was the excited paragraph of the would-be explorer, eagerly documenting his plans to travel across the galaxy of Polaris, despite the Cragmite threat. Underneath the diary entry there was something else, something that hadn't been there the first time I'd read the book back on Apogee Station. A simple word, in different handwriting and in different, modern ink.  
  
_'Sorry'_ was all it said.

 

* * *

 

**end**


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